Haru's Legacy
by David Knightwood
Summary: **EDIT UPDATED VERSION 12/17/11**
1. Dangerous Diners

"_If you find yourself troubled by something mysterious, or a problem that is hard to solve, there's a place you can go where you can always find help. You just need to look for it..."_

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><p>"'If you ever need us, you will always know where to find us. And the beareau's doors will be open to you, be it day or night,' he said. I just stared into his emerald green eyes, wishing it wouldn't have to end. I just- just stared..." she paused, and looked down at her hands which were holding mine. I always loved when she told me this story. The way her face lit up every time I asked her to tell it to me, and when she smiled, it always made me smile with her. The best part was when she described how Toto, the raven, saved her, Baron, and Muta from falling to their death. I cheered every time, and sometimes, when dad was home from work long enough, he would cheer with me. Even though I hardly remembered my father any more, I remembered we were a family, and a happy one none-of-the-less... at least for a while.<p>

"And do you know what he said after that?" she asked. I smiled. We both knew the answer to that question. "He said, "'till then, trust yourself!'" We said together. "And, as he flew away with Toto and Muta, "'I'll miss you...' I called after them. A tear in my eye." She stopped, and the room fell silent. She let go of one of my hand, and rubbed her right eye.

"Just like that one?" I said, pointing to her eye with my free hand. She laughed under her breath, and nodded. "Just like that one," she said. Then, she bent over, and kissed my forehead. "Good night," she whispered as she got up from my bed. "Good night mommy," I whispered loudly. She quietly walked to my doorway, flipping the light switch. Light from the kitchen seeping past my mom's form, causing her to cast a long shadow across my bedroom floor. I pulled the sheet up over my face, and rolled over towards the wall next to my small bed. With a sniffle, I pressed my head into the bed pillow, and closed my eyes tight.

"I love you," she spoke through the small opening of my door.

"I love you too," I whispered back, my eyes still shut. Quietly, she slipped into her own bedroom, and I listened as the hollow echo of a door closing resounded throughout the halls of our little home. As I closed my eyes, I began to invision my mother's story. I imagined her in her wrinkled school uniform, and her hair pulled back in uneven strands as she descended the long staircase of majestic black ravens. Before I knew it, I was dreaming about my own adventures in the strange world of cats. Even my mother and father were in it. It was just the three of us, embarking on our own journey to the Cat Kingdom . We almost became cats, and with the help of The Baron, we managed to escape from the clutches of the evil Cat King before we were stuck there forever. I even dreamed about us standing in front of our little picket fenced home, waving good bye to my mother's long time friends. It was the most exciting dream I had ever had. Years later, and on my sixteenth birthday, it still remains the best dream I ever had. It still was, nonetheless, a dream.

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><p>Dangerous Diners<p>

"Satoru? Satoru? Are you up yet?" My mother called up to my room.

"I'm up! Just getting dressed!" I called back. Every day, it seemed like the same routine. Get dressed for school, go to school, come home, get my homework done, and then go back to bed. The weekends seemed to be my only escape from my responsibilities. The weekends were also when my father came home to his family from business trips. He seemed to be coming home less and less, and the gaps between his return trips home seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. But, they were always pleasant when he did manage to get back. I threw on a pair of jeans, and slipped on my school uniform top. It slid with ease over my head, and onto my shoulders. It was so routine, I didn't even have to struggle to stick on my uniform anymore. I threw on some shoes, bolted out my room, and slid down the staircase railing. When my feet planted themselves on the floor, I sprinted into our small kitchen.

"Hi mom!" I merrily cried, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Good morning Satoru." Nodding, I grabbed a pre-made lunch and slipped it into my backpack.

"Gotta run! See you after school!" I whispered, giving her another kiss on the cheek.

"Young man, why do you even bother to set an alarm? You never eat with me." She pretended to frown, and I laughed.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to be late..."

"You mean, you don't want to be later than usual." She called after me as I ran out into the hall to leave.

"Ha ha. Very funny!" I shouted back, a smile on my face.

"Good bye Satoru! Don't forget, your father's birthday is today, so be home in time for dinner!" My eyes went wide with excitement, as I came back and peeked around the corner into the kitchen. How could I have been so stupid! It was his birthday, and mom and I had something special planned for him. We had prepared a surprise party and all.

"Will do!" I replied.

"Love you Satoru!" She laughed.

"Love you too!"

"Satoru? Satoru?" Mr. Takashashi screamed.

"Wah- What!" I screamed, looking up from my doodle covered notebook.

"Please, pay attention, I will not ask you again!"He firmly ordered, furrowing his brow, and frowning. I blushed, and stuck my nose back into my text book as my fellow class mates laughed. I didn't understand. My name was Satoru, which meant "enlightened."

Oh, the irony.

My grandmother, Naoko, told me that it was a perfectly fitting name. Yeah right. As the laughter settled, I breathed a sigh of relief that my humiliation was quickly being forgotten. Sheepishly, I looked away from the evil stare of Mr. Takashashi, and my eyes fell upon them. A pair of luminescent eyes. Ruri's eyes. She giggled, her hand over he mouth. I furrowed my brow, confused. Was she laughing at me, or the fact I spied her laughing at all? Did she think I was cute? I sure hoped so. I didn't know her to well, but she was unofficially known as "the school's cutest girl." All the boys wanted to date her, even the seniors. And, she was the icon of beauty to all the girls in the school. All of them wanted to be just like her. She was perfect in every way. She was smart, funny, and very charismatic. No wonder her name was Ruri. It wasn't just because she wasn't like unto that of an emerald's characteristics, beautiful and brilliant, she had eyes of that amazing color. It was odd. No one knew of her personal life. She had many friends, but not even they had any clue of what she did once she entered her home. None of them had ever been inside it. Once she went inside, she just disappeared for the rest of the day. I couldn't help but wave back, and give her a big grin. She returned to reading her text book, and I did the same. But, for the rest of the period, we kept shooting glances at each other.

After school, I met up with my friend Takehiko Satou. His mother and my mother were best friends throughout high school, and it just seemed he and I were carrying on a legacy left behind by our mothers.

"Hey Takehiko," I greeted him, holding out my hand.

"Hey Satoru," he warmly beamed, grasping it, and patting me on the back.

"How have you been?" he asked. I gave him a bob of my head, and replied laughing, "Do I really have to answer that?"

"No, it's okay." He winked at a passing group of girls, who all giggled and whispered amongst themselves. "Come on, let's head over to the corner market and pick up something to eat." I waved my hand around, swatting away his suggestion.

"No, no thanks. I'm not hungry," I explained to him.

"Oh, common. Please? It'll be fun..." he pleaded, nudging me with his shoulder.

I shook my head.

"No, really. Thanks." I replied once again.

"Okay. But, I heard that a… certain someone was going to be there too..."

We stopped talking for a moment. He had caught my attention now.

"Who?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"You'll have to find out," Takehiko told me.

"Is it Ruri?" I finally blurted out earnestly. He just lifted his chin and smiled.

"Is it Ruri?" I asked again, more desperate than ever to know the answer. He continued to stand there, arms folded, chest puffed up, and a big, mischievous grin on his face. Irritated with his stubbornness, I frowned and dropped my shoulders.

"Common, tell me. Please?" Now I was the one beginning to beg. His smile continued to grow with every second I asked, begged, and implored, until he eventually gave in to my constant barrage of pathetic questions. "You really want to know?" He asked me again.

"Yes! Common, tell me!" I pleaded.

"Then, you'll have to come with me. Let's go!" He beamed merrily grabbing me by my arm. Before I could say anything, or even conjure up an excuse to avoid going, he was already dragging me from the entrance of our high school, and down the street. Takehiko, eventually let me go, and I followed him to the center of town. He had dragged me as far as the campus west wall, so I decided to keep going. Takehiko was always very jumpy and energetic, not to mention good looking and a ladies man. He had a girlfriend, and also did very well in school. Me on the other hand, I was almost the complete opposite. I was quiet, and didn't like to talk to often. I had very few friends, and I always felt alone. It was weird. I used to think I knew who I was, and what I was going to become, but lately I didn't seem to know. I used to be as popular as Takehiko, and I had tons of friends. But, over time, things for me changed.

"We're here!" Takehiko cried happily as he wrapped his arm around me. The small cafe style restaurant was near an old flower shop that had been around since my mom had been a kid. My grandmother had explained to me that the shop still even sold the fish crackers that my mother used to love as a little kid. I remember my first one.

It was during one of my dad's trips out of town, and so it was just me and my mom. We silently strolled down the sidewalk next to a large cement wall, topped with a iron fence. I remembered walking with the yellow box tucked under my arm, as I nosily munched on the crackers one by one.

"Did you know, that your grandma and I used to walk down these streets all the time when I was your age?" she asked me. I shook my head no.

"Well, it was this same side walk where I learned that I could talk to cats." I smiled a big toothy grin.

"It was Yuki, right?" I asked her. She returned the smile and tickled my ribs.

"Yes, it was," she answered quietly. I remembering giggling so hard that I dropped the box of crackers.

"Uh oh," I whispered timidly. My mom just smiled.

"That's okay," she laughed as she stooped down to pick up crackers that had fallen out of the yellow package. I was about to help her, when I noticed something that I haven't forgotten ever since. Over my mom's shoulder I saw a white cat, with a red ribbon tied around its neck, standing on its back legs. It just stood there, watching us. "Mama! Mama! Look! It's Yuki!" I cried merrily, tapping my mom on the shoulder. She lifted a brow, and slowly turned to look where I was no pointing.

"Satoru, there's nothing there you silly," she laughed, squatting back down to pick up more cookies. Puzzled, I looked back to where I had been pointing. She was right, there was nothing there. I frowned. I was about to argue with her that I had really seen her, when I noticed she was about to pick up the last one.

"No, don't!" I cried. "Leave one for Yuki!" She paused, and looked up from her stooped position, and stared at me. Forcing a smile, she nodded, and quietly let go of the last crackers. "Okay, we'll leave one for Yuki," she promised me. I could tell then something had bothered her. But what? Did she believe I was mocking her? Or maybe, just maybe, she was dying to return back to the Kingdom and visit with Yuki, Lune, Muta, And Baron... I was little then, and I didn't realize until I was out of grade school that it had been all some crazy dream that she had had when she was in high school. I guess to a nine-year old, almost everything is real.

"Hey, Satoru? You okay?" Takehiko asked, while waving his hand back and forth in front of my face. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just uh, spaced out for a moment..."

"Yeah, a really long moment," a female voice came from behind me. I jumped maybe six feet upwards, and it seemed like forever making the trip back down to the ground. It was so unexpected, I didn't think I would hear her voice behind me like that.

"Hiya Satoru!" Ruri beamed, her hands clasped together, as she rocked from side to side.

"Uh, uh hi Rurrrr..." my voice slurred. Distracted by her beauty, all I could do was stammer.

I felt like such a fool.

I couldn't think of much to say. As a matter of fact, I couldn't say anything except for, "uh..." My friend Takehiko smiled, and saved me from total embarrassment.

"Hey, you guys must have met! I bet you didn't know that Ruri is my girl-friend's best friend!"

"No, I didn't know that," I whispered.

"Takehiko!" Another female voice cried.

"Oh no," I moaned under my breath. It was Hoshi. Takehiko's girlfriend. She wasn't exactly... the most intelligent girl I had ever met, but I would admit she was attractive. If she wasn't so… idiotic, I wouldn't mind having her around, but the only reason she was my friend's girlfriend was because of her looks, not for her brains.

"Hi Hoshi!" Takehiko cheered merrily as he embraced her. Hoshi was not only good looking, but strong to. Takehiko may have been one the strongest guys in the school, he was still almost knocked over by her. Ruri and I noisily suppressed a laugh as Takehiko's faced turned bright red from her tight embrace. He gave both of us an anger filled glare, and we immediately stopped snickering. As she released her grip on him, his face automatically transformed back to his relaxed and poised state it had been before.

"It's good to see you again! How are you?" He asked. As they began to "catch up," asking each other "If they had fun at school," or if "things we're going okay at home," Ruri and I decided that it was time to start our own conversation.

"So, you're the Yoshioka kid huh? There's been a ton of interesting stories floating around about you guys." It was probably just me, but I didn't think that was the best way to start the conversation. But, at least it was a start right? I had to force a smile. "Yeah, don't I know it."

I shifted the subject. "I think we should go inside. Let's leave the-" I looked back and laughed. "two love birds to talk huh?" I told her. She giggled, and followed me through the restaurant's entrance.

We stood at the counter, waiting for our order. All the seats had been taken, and we decided we might just sit at one of the tables outside on the patio. We watched as they began to fry a serving of dumplings I had ordered for the two of us. As we stood there, watching them prepare the noodles, and frying the pork-covered dough in hot oil, we told each other jokes, and paid no attention to the on lookers staring at us as if we had big, suggestive signs taped to our backs. As they wrapped up, and placed our orders onto porcelain plates, I noticed a small stack of yellow boxes on the countertop next to the cash register.

"Would you look at that..." I said to myself out loud. "What?" Ruri asked, thinking I was talking to her. "Those boxes there," I began to say unconsciously. "Those have the fish crackers I'm obsessed with in them."

Ruri laughed. "Fish crackers? I think I know what you're talking about. My little sister loves those," she told me. "Well, that makes two of us," I whispered. She laughed, and rested her head on my shoulder. My eye lids lifted wide open as she closed her own. She was smiling. And so was I. It was the biggest smile I had ever smiled in a long time. "Would you like to try some?" I found myself saying out loud.

"Sure," she said dreamily. I pulled out my wallet, and called over the cashier.

After lunch, we sat and talked while Takehiko and Hoshi ordered their own lunches inside the restaurant. We talked about all sorts of things; things like how much homework Mr. Tanka gave, and how boring science with Ms. Itou could get. The conversation was pretty normal... until it happened.

"Oh don't I know it! And don't get me started about Mr. Saitou-" My thought was suddenly interrupted by the screams of a nearby group of guests. I looked up from Ruri to see a small white cat being pursued by the owner of the restaurant with a large, wooden baseball bat in his hands. The cat firmly held the ribbon of a fish cracker box tightly between its teeth. The flaps to the overhang fluttered violently behind them as both the cat and the man ran straight towards us.

"Oh my God!" Ruri screamed as she jumped out of her seat. And just in time to. The bat came crashing down on the back of her seat, followed by a loud serious of crackling caused by the explosion of woven wood.

"Come back here!" The man's drunken slurred voice demanded sharply. The cat's back legs came out from underneath it, and it slid into the corner of the closed off patio. The elder man raised the weapon up above his head to bring down upon the small creature. I quickly stood up, and delivered a punch to his stomach. He coughed, and I could smell the alcohol in his breath. As he dropped the bat, I grabbed his raised arm, and quickly threw him across the small patio from where we were sitting on. He fell on to a table, and it split into two pieces. Cups, salt shakers, and teapots atop it quickly beat the splitting halves to the ground, quickly scattering all about the place. For a moment, I just stared at the man's body. It was limp, and un-moving. "Oh no, I've killed him," I quietly whispered.

I didn't know it, but I was going to wish I had.

The next thing I heard was a groan, and then the sudden sound of a bottle end smashing open. The man had grabbed a nearby empty saki bottle, and smashed it against the fence rail enclosing the patio, and began approaching me with it.

"Satoru!" Ruri screamed, running to my side.

"No no, get behind me Ruri!" I hoarsely ordered her. Quickly, she dove behind me, as I reached back for the bat lying on the ground. The very second my fingers wrapped around the grip, the owner lunged forward to attack me, and I quickly countered his make-shift weapon's thrust towards my ribs with a bone-crunching swing of the bat. He released his grip on the bottle, and he reared back and fell over the railing into some bushes.

"Oh no," I whispered.

"We've got to go!" Ruri screamed.

"Yeah, yeah..." I repeated dazed.

"Let's get out of here!" She screamed, tugging on my sleeve. The two of us sprinted through the tent flap leading to the patio. We ran as fast as we could to the entrance of the restaurant. We ran past Takehiko and Hoshi, who had just grabbed their food. "Where are you two going?" Takehiko asked casually.

"Far away from here!" I screamed back, rounding a corner. But, before we were out of sight of the restaurant, I noticed a small white streak dart out of the sliver of entrance the closing door provided. I guess I was the only one to notice the tiny white cat that escaped from the restaurant. I smiled, as I watched the cat dart off the opposite direction. It reminded me of Yuki, the cat from my mom's story. I could have swore that it stopped to look back at us. There was something... I didn't know how to describe it other than magical, but that's how it felt. For that brief moment, staring into those big blue eyes, something about the way it stared at me, told me that it was grateful, but still in much pain. That was the last thing I saw before Ruri pulled me back around the corner.

"No time to see if you're friend's okay, we've got to get as far away from here as we can!" she cried frantically. She pulled me behind her like airplane luggage. It was Takehiko dragging me to the restaurant all over again. But, this time, I didn't mind. After all, it was Ruri pulling me by my shirt this time, not Takehiko. There was something... enjoyable about this ride.

"Well, that was exciting," Ruri sighed, dropping my stretched out t-shirt collar. Putting her hands on her thighs, she caught her breath while I stood up, and dusted myself off.

"That was quite a move you pulled there," Ruri said with a weak, and hardly audible laugh. I could hardly tell her amused laugh from her breath. She must have been exhausted. I wouldn't have blamed her neither. She had just dragged me half way across town.

"Thanks, by the way," I said, checking the seat of my pants to see if they had torn during my trip.

"For what?" She asked.

"For dragging me out of there when you did. If you hadn't snapped me out of it, I'd probably be dead by now."

She laughed, and I couldn't tell if it was directed at me, or what I had said.

"Yeah right. You would have pulverized that guy if you had had the chance," she explained.

"Oh," I paused in thought. I hadn't really thought about what would have happened if I stayed. I had been practicing martial arts since I was ten, but who knows if all that experience would have really helped me at all. I wasn't to confident that I could've stood a chance. "Well, I'd better get going. My mom," she said, pointing to a nearby house.

"You live here?" I asked her, looking at the massive home she pointed to.

She nodded. "Well, I'd better hurry, or else my mom's gonna kill me."

"Mine too," I said with a smile. She giggled, and then she did something that caught me completely off guard. She quickly gave me a tiny kiss on the cheek, and ran off down the sidewalk towards the house. I was glad she decided to disappear so quickly, because then she would have spied the dark red blush that washed over my face. I made a mental note; my first day of high school, would maybe be the best day I had would ever have. It couldn't have possibly gotten any better.

Of course, I was wrong.

The day after my coup with the restaurant owner, Takehiko and I walked down the sidewalk to my home from the school. He and I were discussing what had happened yesterday.

"So you just ran?" Takehiko asked, snickering. I smiled, and explained everything that had happened after that. I was getting to the good part, when I saw them.

"And, guess what she did after that?" I asked him while we rounded a street corner.

"What? What happened?" "Well, she..." My voice trailed as he and I both looked towards my house. A couple of police officers and their car were residing in front of my home. My eyes went wide with panic.

"Oh no! That guy must have contacted the police!" I cried out in terror. I shifted my footing, and quickly sprinted towards the house. As I got closer to the front door, I noticed my mother sitting at a kitchen table, her eyes soaked with tears and a police officer sitting in a chair adjacent from her.

"... there's still hope for him," the officer assured her.

"Hope for who?" I asked, walking towards the both of them. My mother jumped out of her seat, and ran over to embrace me.

"Oh Satoru, oh God Satoru..." She whispered hoarsely. I could feel the warmth of her face and the cool streaks of fresh tears stain my uniform as I held her close. "Mom? What happened?" I asked her. She cleared her throat, and sniffled noisily.

"You father has been shot..."

Both my mother and I had been crying for nearly three hours in the hospital lobby. The EMTs wouldn't let us see him until he had been stabilized... Or until he was dead. When we had finally finished our sobbing, my mother began to explain what had happened.

"Your father was getting on to the Metro subway to come home, when an armed gunman entered in an opposite train car. He fired two shots into the roof of the car, and began asking for cash and valuables. When he came to your father's car, he came across an elder woman who was resistant, and he threatened to shoot her. Eventually, your father did what any other brave man would have done. He attempted to stop the man from putting a bullet in the poor woman's temple. Unfortunately, while attempting to stop the bullet, the one intended for the woman pierced your father's heart, and he went unconscious. The police managed to catch the crook, thank God. But, not without casualties." I nearly began to cry again, when a surgeon came out from the operation room.

"Mrs. Yoshioka?" he asked, the glass of his glasses stained with fog.

"Yes? How's my husband?" She asked.

"He's…" The doctor sighed, removing a pair of rubber gloves. They say a person can only cry so much in one day. Well, both my mother and I might have cried two life times worth of tears in just that one minute. The only thing I could make out from the surgeon through our sobbing was, "We are doing everything we can. We really are..."

My mother had decided to stay at the hospital, while I returned to school. My heart was heavy with sorrow and grief, but I had to press on. That's what my father would have wanted. We even had discussed something like this before. Before his fatal trip as a matter of fact.

We had been standing at the edge of a stone bridge. The sun was slowly setting, setting the whole world a blaze. The warm, gentle glow of everything below was wonderfully comforting. This was something my father and I did often. We always came back to the bridge o talk about things like friends, and strange business cohorts. This time, our conversation resulted with my father's story of of when one of his business partners had threatened to kill him.

"Yes, that man was obviously intoxicated Satoru. He demanded that I buy him a drink, or else he would kill me... It scared me Satoru. He seemed very serious."

He stared out over the river canal that acted as the border between the country side and the city. I just stared up at him. My father didn't seem like one for fear. He had a firm chin, a narrow, square nose, and dark brown eyes. He had stone gray hair, but his complexion was young. He just seemed like the heroic type. That's maybe why I wasn't so surprised that he had risked his life to save that elderly woman.

"You were?" "Were what Satoru?"

"Scared. I mean you don't really seem like it..." He started to laugh, and he threw and arm around my shoulder. "Everyone gets scared Satoru. Even me." I shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess." He returned his stare back out into the countryside. The wind blew threw the different grasses and weeds. The trees swayed with them in a rhythmic pace. Nature seemed to bend to the wind's will. Some times, I wished I could be the wind, powerful and unmoving.

"Satoru?" I heard my father's voice ask. I turned to look at him. He continued to stare quietly out over the bridge. "I want you to promise me something..."

"Sure. Anything." He allowed a moment of silence to fill in between us. The wind picked up slightly, causing the sound of rustling tree leaves to travel to our ears. As soon as it picked up, it died down just as quickly. My father cleared his throat, and then turned to look me in the eyes.

"No matter what happens, promise me you will always stay strong."

"What do you mean?" I really didn't know what he meant. I had always been strong physically.

"Believe in who you are Satoru." My eyes went wide. Believe in who I am? I almost started to laugh, but he was being serious. It was funny, because that's what "Baron" told my mother supposedly.

"Do you promise me you will believe in just you Satoru? And that you will not offer yourself up to others for their judgement?" I nodded, and gave him my own pat on the back.

"I promise dad. I won't let you down."

He smiled, and we continued to stare out into the fields of plants. The sun's brilliant glow filled my soul with peace. The two of us stood on that bridge. I felt like both he and I were conducting a beautiful song, directing the symphony of nature below us. The song; "The Brilliant Sun." With my father at my side, and the sun's dying rays falling upon me, I felt so strong, and willing to accomplish whatever I had set my mind to. I could believe in myself then.

Now, without my dad, I wasn't so sure.

Could I believe in myself?

I didn't know.


	2. Ribbons and Rewards

Ribbons and Rewards

The funeral was in a week.

I wondered, 'Why a week?'

Maybe it was to prep the body…

or pick out the right coffin.

I threw myself over a trash can, and lost my breakfast.

Suddenly, tea and toast seemed like a bad idea.

I guess that's also what made school that much more tedious.

Walking home, nothing interesting happen.

It was walking _into _my house that caused my day to begin a downward trend.

"Mom? I'm home!" I screamed as I came through the front door.

There was no answer.

"Mom? Are you there?" I called, throwing my backpack down next to the front door.

Still, no one answered back. She told me that she would have been home by now. I began to venture about the house more, searching every room, and looking through every door. Frowning, I decided to look upstairs.

"Mom? Where are you?" I repeated as I walked up the stairs. This was so odd. She usually left a note, or a message on the telephone, letting me know if she had left somewhere. I didn't find any of those things either... that was, until I went into my bedroom.

"Mom?" I asked, pushing my bedroom door open.

"What the heck?" I whispered. Looking at my bed, I could see a small, rolled up parchment sitting on the edge of the mattress. Setting my backpack down in the doorway, I slowly inched myself towards the bed, and wrapped my hands slowly around the rolled up scroll. It was very cloth like. I was about to unroll it, when I heard a voice behind me.

"Hello Mr. Satoru!" It chimed merrily.

I almost wet myself as I span around, lifting the rolled up scroll to attack my intruder with. Only, before I could swing, I had lost a grip on the scroll as my jaw dropped, and my eyes went wide. A brown cat was standing next to my closet.

Standing…

Now, if I didn't know any better…

I would have said that cats don't stand.

"Hello hello! It's so good to finally meet you face to face!" It said.

It said.

Those were the key words.

A talking cat?

Impossible.

Cat's can't talk.

And, how did it get into my house?

"Aagh!" I screamed backing up towards my bedroom door...

Only to trip on my backpack.

The cat waddled around me.

"Well, aren't you a fine looking specimen. You're everything she said you would be!"

I closed my eyes, and told myself, "This isn't happening. This isn't happening. I'm... I'm just dreaming! Yeah, that's it! I'm just having a dream, and I need to wake up!"

"When I open my eyes, you'll be gone, and I'll be in bed," I whispered to myself.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes tightly, and repeated one more time "I'm sleeping, and I need to wake up..."

I opened my eyes.

I wasn't in bed, but at least the cat was gone.

Or so I thought.

"Mr. Satoru? Are you alright?"

The voice hit me like an express train.

The cat was standing right next to my ear, its paw on my forehead.

"You feel a little warm," it explained.

I sat up, and pushed myself towards the hallway wall screaming in terror.

"Ah! Get away from me!"

The cat laughed, shaking its head.

"Oh my my my, you are exactly how she described..."

"What? Who?" I screamed in terror.

"Not so loud Mr. Satoru. There's no need to yell."

I began to calm myself down, and evaluate my situation.

'A talking cat?' I thought. 'Yeah right! I must be dreaming. A talking cat... maybe in my-'

Without warning, the words slipped from my lips

"my mother's dream..."

"Oh no, Mr. Satoru, it was no dream... It was very real."

Sitting against the wall, I just stared at the cat. It smiled, its furry face shaped into a big grin. I couldn't help what happened next...

I started to laugh, and running my hand through my hair, I kept laughing until my face streamed with tears.

For eight years, I had believed my mother's story had actually happened.

For eight more of those years, I had believed that it never really did happen.

And now...

It was happening.

I didn't know if I should have been ecstatic or freaked out. All I remember before passing out was fragments of things the cat told me.

"You have saved the King's daughter..."

"...he is very grateful..."

"...marvelous array of gifts..."

"...see to it..."

"...you'll be taken care of..."

"...completely satisfied..."

I violently sat up, gasping for air. It felt like I had been suffocated and strangled by reality. But, once I opened my eyes, things seemed normal. Rubbing my eyes, I put my head on a swivel as I looked about the room. There was no sign of the cat. I grinned.

'Must have been a dream,' I thought to myself. Standing up from where I had been sitting, I dusted off my pants.

"Wait," I said out loud. I looked down at my hand.

In it, was a cloth-like scroll, tucked tightly into the my palm.

"Oh no..." I gasped, turning left and right, looking around me as if I had awoken in some stranger's home.

"Mom?" I called out.

There was no answer.

I bit my lip, and frantically ran downstairs, dropping the parchment as I took the first step.

"Mom? Mom? Where are you?" I repeated, searching every room, and looking through every door. The dark house was very quiet except for my cries and occasional screeching of my tennis shoes on the hard-wood floor.

As I came back through the kitchen a third time, I fell to my knees and began to cry.

Gone.

First dad, and now her too.

What was I going to do?

Where would I go?

Who would do this?

All of them were questions I didn't have the answers to.

Or did I?

I quickly scrambled back up the stairs, and stopped in my door way. With my tear soaked and burning eyes, I stared down at the worn scroll. The purple ribbon reflected traces of the moon light that descended from my open window. I stared at it, praying it would provide me with the answers I so desperately needed. My hands grew sweaty, and my eyes began to fill with hope instead of tears. I licked my lips, and slowly reached for the parchment. Perhaps it was a note from my mother. Yeah, that was what it was. It was a note. A note from her... my mother. I slowly began to undo the ribbon. My fingers gently began to tug on one of the ends of small bow.

I went to school the next day, angry and resentful towards the city police for kicking me out of my own home. Apparently, a neighbor had heard all the screaming, and had contacted the police department. They had come barging into my home before I could open the scroll, and insisted that they investigate after I explained my mother was missing. Playing things smart, I hid the note the cat had given me before the police could confiscate it from me, and I hurried off to school before they could suspect anything. When I arrived, people had already began to talk about my situation. Someone had found out about my predicament, and now it had spread around the school like a wildfire. Walking to class, I was having a lot of mixed feelings. Many kids I didn't know were coming up to me, sympathetically assuring me the police would find my mother... they claimed that the police would solve this case before I knew it.

They didn't know how wrong they were.

I continued to receive soft, "I'm sorry's," and confident, "They'll find her,'s, from anonymous and unknown sources. I rolled my eyes, and delivered a standard "Thanks," or "I'll bet they will," in response.

When the barrage of sympathetic comments ended, I walked quietly to the front of the school by myself... thinking about everything that had happened to me the other day. What would become of my mom? What would happen to me? How would I be able to earn a living?

Without warning, I suddenly found myself being knocked to the ground.

"Oh shoot!" both my assailant and I screamed in terror as made the trip downward.

I stood up angrily, and began dusting myself off.

"Hey, why don't you watch where you're-"

I put my hand over my mouth.

It was Ruri.

She was back?

But how?

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I- I uh... here," I hoarsely whispered, squatting down to help her up. I placed my hand on her back, and used the other to grab onto her hand. Slowly, we stood on our feet.

"I didn't know it was you! I'm- I'm really sorry..."

She looked at me, with a thin, but reassuring smile.

"It's okay. I understand. You have been having a rough morning..."

So... she knew too.

I nodded.

"Yeah, it's been crazy..."

She looked down at her hand, which I held in mine. She squeezed my hand even tighter, and wrapped her other arm around me. She interlaced her fingers between mine own, and eventually, I wrapped my own arm around her. We stood there in each other's embrace, just quietly allowing the other to feel the warmth of each other's hug. All of the sudden, I didn't feel so alone in the world anymore. She rested her head on my shoulder, as I did the same. Patting me on the back, she and I slowly broke from each other's cling, and smiled.

"See you later Satoru..." she whispered, waving as she walked down the hall to her class.

"Yeah, see you..." I called back to her.

I smiled weakly.

Funny.

She didn't have to say anything, and yet...

It was the most sincere comfort I would received that day.

After P.E, I sat on the bench across from my locker, getting dressed. With my jeans now secure on my waist, and my shirt and jacket resting upon my shoulders, I stuck my hands in my pockets. The feeling of the pocket's lint gave me a little comfort. The warmth from my thighs also helped too. They reminded me of my mom, who, when I was having a bad day at elementary school, would invite me to come sit next to her on the couch and lay my head on her lap, and rest. I formed a paper thin smile, and began to walk out through the gym doors.

Stretching, I began to yawn, and walk off towards my next class. For the first time in my life, my mind was entirely void of thought. There was nothing I could think of. I reached back to pull my water bottle out of my back-pack to drink. I felt nothing but my jacket.

"Darn..." I sighed, stopping in mid step.

My backpack was still in the locker rooms.

Why didn't anything ever work out for me.

I heaved another heavy sigh as I marched back towards the small, humid room. I peeked in through the door to see if anyone had taken it. It was still there, thank goodness. I kept my eyes focused on the backpack as I listened to the sound of my shoe's heels clicking against the cement floor. The hollow sound of my uniform's dress shoes made me feel uneasy, and unsure. I felt so alone. This uniform... it made me sick some times. It really didn't allow much margin for error. Our mascots had to be perfectly tied, and the entire uniform had to be perfectly pressed. I felt like a robot every time I it on. I suddenly had lost my identity when I slipped it on. It was kind of unnerving.

Wham.

I hadn't been paying attention to where I was going, and now I found myself with a face full of locker.

Falling back onto the ground, I clutched my head, and rocked back and forth. My head began experiencing an unreasonable level of throbbing. I felt like I was going to puke. I had to shake it off, and get to class. As I slowly reached for my backpack, I noticed something unusual inside...

Something alive.

I shot up from the floor and into a wall behind me.

Suddenly, I was beginning to have second thoughts about puking.

Mice.

Tons of mice.

If it was one thing I hated...

It was mice.

"Oh... my... Gosh!" I managed to gasp, as I began to sprint my way towards the locker room. "Aagh! Ho my goodness!" I heard myself scream running down the sidewalk away from the horde of mice following me. Rounding a corner, I came to the hall with my textbook locker. I quickly attempted to slow down, digging my shoes's heels into the gravel, and then darting back around the long row of lockers. I watched as a small army of mice darted past the hall and out into the street. I sighed, and relaxed my tense muscles. I smiled with relief, knowing that I had finally lost those disgusting little creatures. My head gently fell back into the locker behind me, and I breathed in a good amount of fresh air. I quietly stooped down to open my locker.

A bunch of smaller boxes came pouring out from it, and fell to my feet. I raised my brow as I squatted down to examine one of the box. It was small, and pink, sealed together with a sticker of some sort. I quietly tore off the sticker seal, and peeked inside.

I gasped when I found another mouse.

More mice began to pop up out of all the other boxes that had fallen out.

Panic constricted my throat, preventing me from screaming. All I could was moan.

I slowly began to inch my way around the small, collective group of mice, back towards the archway that acted as the entrance to the open locker hall.

Escaping my encounter with the mice, I had managed to find refuge in my english class. As usual, Mr. Tanaka gave us a lecture about the current novel we were reading in class, and how it's characters tie to the theme of revenge, or something like that. Unknown to Mr. Tanaka, I wasn't really paying attention to his lecture, but rather on the parchment scroll that that cat had given me. Looking around to assure myself no one else was watching me, I slowly undid the purple ribbon, and gently unfolded the rolled over edges of the paper scroll. I took a deep breath, and rolled it out flat. Pictures of trees and mice were brightly painted on the scroll's surface. Other drawings, similar in size, were beautifully laid out, with equal space between each individual painting. They appeared to act as the characters of another language... like hieroglyphics. I stared in awe at the colorful and wonderful pictures. The mice and cat tail pictures were pretty good, but not life-like.

"Eww, mice..." I whispered under my breath.

The girl in front of me turned back and put her finger to her lips, hissing a small "sshh," in my direction. I rolled my eyes, and continued to read over the scroll. Skimming over the images, I made small notes about each one. I could tell that this was something I would want to know like the back of my hand. My eyes suddenly locked onto a picture of a cat wearing a crown with a cat eye in the center of it.

"What is that?" I whispered to myself.

My mind began to run through different options.

Execution?

No, that's ridiculous.

"Mr. Yoshioka! Pay attention!" Mr. Tanaka angrily shouted.

I cried out in terror, and fell back to the floor with a loud thud.

Lying on the floor, looking up at the celling, I thought to myself,

'_Well, at least it couldn't get any worse... right?'_

After school, Takehiko and I walked together to our dojo. We were pretty quiet, which was unusual. Takehiko would usually start up an interesting conversation, but today, we had nothing to say. I didn't know if it was because he was feeling uncomfortable, knowing of my current situation, but he just patted me on the back, and nodded.

I knew what he was telling me.

Even if he wouldn't say anything.

As a matter of fact, he didn't have to say anything.

He knew when I needed the quiet moments to collect.

I guess that's why he was my best friend.

When class was over, and I was dressed back in my school uniform I walked home by myself, keeping my eyes glued to the sidewalk, only taking brief glances forward to see where I was going. I hated making eye contact with others, it just was so awkward. Not even my friends understood why I never looked them in the eyes when I talked to them. As I rounded the corner, I noticed that everything seemed unusually quiet. Normally, I heard birds singing and calling out to each other. But, all of the sudden, they ceased their melodic tunes. I looked up to the trees to try and spot them.

Nothing...

I looked back behind me...

and not a moment to soon either.

My face filled with horror, as I watched a massive horde of cats coming straight towards me. I began to stumble back forward. Once I caught my balance, I started sprinting as hard as my legs would allow, and rushed straight up to the front door of my home. I was grateful that the police had left. That would have been pretty embarrassing, to have them staring at me, wide-eyed and confused. The sound of a massive wave of cat meows hit my ears with one, unified piercing noise. With one fumble, and the eventually twist of my house key, I was inside. Slamming and locking the door, I threw my back against the door, and heaved a heavy sigh. I began to slip my jacket off from my shoulders, when I smelled something unusual. I looked down at my jacket, identifying it as the source of the minty smell. Jamming my hands into the pockets, I fished around for what might have caused the "cat caravan" to begin its pursuit. My fingers wrapped around a small, plastic package, and I pulled it out to see what it was.

Catnip.

Oh no.

Eager to know what other damage I might have sustained, I looked out my living room window.

Cat tails.

I didn't see them rushing into the house.

The entire yard surrounding the house was filled with them.

I shoved my hand into my uniform's pants pocket, and pulled out the crumpled up paper scroll. I pulled it open, and began to study the pictures once again. Listing off the different pictures in my head, I realized what the scroll really was.

It was a list of things I would "receive."

I guess some bed time stories are real.

For nearly and hour, I had been sitting on the couch, my eyes red with both tears of a mixed feeling nature. I couldn't believe what was happening. First, the mice, and now this. I didn't know how to feel. It seemed like nothing was going my way. I needed to just get away from all of this...

But how?

I threw my face into my hands, and sighed.

I didn't know what to do.

I never knew what to do.

Calmly, I laid my head back against the couch and sat quietly in the big empty room. I listened to the house speak to me. The quiet hum of a heating unit seemed to offer some comfort, but I still felt a massive void within me.

"What am I going to do?"

Shaking my head, I moaned, and felt another tear coming.

I straightened up, and placed my hands firmly on my knees.

'No,' I thought to myself.

'Enough crying. It's time for you to figure out what to do.'

Standing up, I began to pace around the living room.

"Let's see, what to do... what to do..."

I looked out my window to watch a child and her mother stroll past my house. The kid pointed and laughed at my yard, and the mother pushed him on. She seemed to be upset that the yard hadn't been properly cared for. I wanted to throw open the window and explain why my yard was such a mess. Why cat tails from nowhere were sprouting up all over my yard. I wanted to tell her that my mother was gone, and that this was the fault of a magical Kingdom of Cats.

But I didn't.

I knew that I couldn't tell anyone about this.

I wanted to tell someone...

But I couldn't.

I laughed as I sat back down on my couch. Suddenly, I found myself laughing. I couldn't quiet explain why, I just... just laughed. Maybe it was because for many years, all I ever wanted was for my mother's tale to be true, and I remember I had wished on every star, dropped a coin in every fountain, and prayed every night to ensure it would come true. I had given up only a few years ago, assuring myself that not all dreams can come true.

However, this dream came back to haunt me.

I sneezed.

One of the windows must have been open.

My allergies from the cat tails were acting up.

I went upstairs to get changed out of my uniform and take a shower.

It was my first night alone. Usually, I came running home because it was where I always felt safe. Never in my life had I had such a terrifying experience. My mother had always been home, and she gave me confidence... that I would always be welcome home. She had only been gone for one day, and it felt more like years since she had first disappeared. I remembered how she smiled at me when I walked into a room she was in. She would smile, no matter what. For some time, I had taken it all for granted, her cooking, cleaning, and even her smile. Now, there was no one to smile that smile.

Suddenly home didn't feel like home.

School was particularly challenging to get through, even with comfort from my closet friends Takehiko and Ruri. As we walked down a locker hallway to get to class, I began to think a lot about my current situation. I had felt so many different emotions in these past few days. I wasn't used to having so many mixed feelings all at once. I couldn't help but feel that this was all some how my fault. How did all of this happen? Did I cause all of this to happen? I angrily slammed a fist into a nearby locker, and gritted my teeth. With a bitter feeling washing over me, I fell to the ground, and began to quietly sob. Both Takehiko and Ruri squatted down to help me back up. Each of them put a hand on my shoulder, and extended another hand to help me up.

Frustrated, I waved them away, and stood back up on my own. Wiping my eyes with my other hand, I stood back up on my feet. Both my friends quietly stared at me, their concern filled faces provided me with no comfort.

No comfort for this weary soul.

I walked past them, and continued my march to class alone.

I was so relieved when the school bell sounded the end of class. Standing up, Mr. Tanaka spoke to the class.

"Remember, your short story assignments are due next week, so get to work."

I walked out of the class, sighing with disappointment. I had completely forgotten about the assignment, but I had more important things to think about other than that. Writing and presenting short-story was the least of my problems. It was odd... my life seemed like it was being filled with stories. And mine was just getting worse and worse all the time.

Outside a light breeze tossed the grass from side to side. I made my way to the back of the school where I usually sat during lunch. My friends, what friends I had, usually accompanied me. But for some reason today I wanted to be by myself. Setting my things down in their usual places, and pulling my small lunch out of my back pack, I bit into a rice ball. It was so weird how quiet things were. At least the birds were out today. I laid my head back and listened to their melodic singing. The notes seemed to float around in the air, and the sound of the emerald grass gently rustling in the wind was quiet soothing. I thought of my mother, and her uneven, tangled hair. Her brown eyes, and their sad look. I looked up to watch A marvelous armada of white clouds sail along a bright blue sea. I spent a few minutes reflecting upon my day. In my head, I began to freeze frame several moments that had made up my week. I almost felt that somehow, I had switched places with someone. I didn't know who, but someone with even worse luck than me.

"This is not my life..." I whispered to myself.

I angrily balled up my rice ball paper wrapper, and threw it towards a nearby trashcan. It rebounded off the rim of the trash can. I rolled my eyes, and marched towards the paper wad. Scooping up the trash, I raised it above my head, and violently launched it into the plastic bin. With much frustration, I threw all my weight down on to my seat on the concrete stairs, and stuck my face into my hands.

"Ugh. Why me? Why is all of this happening to me?" I asked.

Suddenly, I felt something fall on to my shoulder.

"Mr. Satoru? Mr. Satoru? Are you alright?"

I recognized that voice. It was one I had heard in my home.

It was that cat.

The one I had discovered in my room.

I turned around, and quickly grabbed it by the back of its neck. There was no way it was getting away this time. I began shaking it around, to prove that I wasn't messing around.

"You cats just don't quit do you?"

The cat's eyes went wide with both fear and confusion.

"What? Mr. Satoru I assure you, I have no idea what you are talking about." It explained, using its front paws to try and break my grip. "We are just trying to repay you for your noble actions!" Continuing its efforts to loosen my grip on its neck, I realized I was still holding on to it. In its voice was a sound of desperation and also truth. So, I released my grip on its neck.

"I was informed you would be satisfied with all these gifts," It informed me as its back paws managed to find the ground. "I was told that you would be very ecstatic to find such marvelous gifts such as the ones on that list."

"I don't know who told you that, but they were sadly mistaken. I don't eat..." I paused before I spoke the words that labeled the very creature I despised. I swallowed hard.

"Mice. I don't eat them." I quickly spoke.

"And I suppose you don't need catnip either..." It sheepishly guessed.

"And my yard! Its now covered with cat tails! I've gotten bizarre looks from everyone on my street after you cats planted them in my yard." I explained, a hint of frustration still hidden in my voice.

"Mr. Satoru, I'm so very sorry. I had a feeling these gifts would not satisfy you. Your mother had a very similar explanation many years ago."

I was about to say something else, something about how many mice there had been, when I realized it had said my mother. How did it know who my mother was?

"My... my mom?" I asked, my voice's tone more curious and irked.

"Yes. She just hated mice. Just like you." It merrily chimed.

"How do you know my mother?" I asked, beginning my own little interrogation.

"Oh, well Mr. Satoru. I thought you of all people would know..."

"Know what?"

"Well, I am the one and only secretary to the King of Cats."

My brow went up, and I got down on my hands to study the cat even closer. I looked at its olive drab colored eyes, and dark brown patches fur. It, or rather he, looked exactly the same as my mother had described him.

"How did you find me?" I asked it.

"Oh, its simple really. She told me where you went to school."

"Who? Who told you?"

"Why, your mother of course."


	3. Cats and Canes

Cats and Canes

"My... mom?" I asked in a whisper.

"Yes! She just goes on and on about you, and she warned me that you didn't believe. But, I can see now that she was obviously mistaken.

"I was so shocked, I couldn't find the next words I wanted to say. I muttered, stuttered, and fumbled with every sentence I tried to conjure up.

"I- uh... her, she, I mean-"

The cat started to chuckle.

"Oh my my my my, you are almost exactly like your mother."

I rolled my eyes.

"I know. You've told me that already."

"A little less patient, but still the same." It told me.

I shrugged. I couldn't argue with that. But, the cat didn't understand what kind of stress I was going through.

"I'm sorry, I've just been having a rough week."

"Really? Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know. I mean, I just don't understand why all these terrible things are happening to me." I started to chuckle, as I turned to look away from the cat. I was still grasping all this, and I wasn't ready to accept it.

"Look at me. I'm so out of it, that I'm actually talking to you."

"And what's wrong with that?" It asked with irritation, placing its paws on its hips.

"Well, I mean don't take it personally. I mean, I'm talking to a cat."

"You are your mother's son..."

"That's not what I mean. I stopped believing in this stuff a long time ago." I explained, lifting my hand up, and letting it fall back on to my lap.

"Well, maybe you'll have more reason to believe now hmm?"

I turned around.

"What do you..." I looked through the metal gates to find a small line of cats slowly approaching me. The sound of traditional ceremony music accompanied the small parade. In noticed a small, closed off, carriage like device, carried along by four other cats. I almost started laughing again, when a ceremonial gong stopped me.

One of the cats cleared its throat.

"Mr. Satoru?"

I nodded. "That's me."

"Please, allow me to present, our wise and most exalted ruler, King Lune."

I watched as one of the carriage doors opened, and out stepped a purple cat a few and almost unnoticeable strands of white fur on its face, wearing what appeared to be a long, red, velvet cape and a beautifully decorated crown, encrusted with jewels.

"Mr. Satoru, it is a pleasure..."

"Uh, yes Mr. Lune, uh King! Sir, I... wow. Uh... um..."

There I went, struggling to find the right words cat laughed heartily, which helped me relax a bit, and extended a paw out to me. I gently grasped it, and we shook.

"You are most certainly your mother's son. You have her eyes."

"Yeah, I've been getting a lot of that."

He smiled.

"Mr. Satoru. You have preformed most admirably on my behalf. You saved my daughter from that evil restaurant owner. For this, as you probably can tell, we have attempted to reward you. But," he looked back and stared at the brown cat that had been speaking with me earlier. It sort of shrunk back, and averted its eyes away from him.

"If you are anything like your mother, we realize that we have completely wronged you by giving you gifts that were so inappropriate."The brown cat's face brightened as he stepped forward.

"So, how would you like to have your own private tour of our King Lune's very Kingdom?" it asked, grinning.

"A... tour?' I repeated.

"Yes! Oh it's marvelous. Great food, beautiful scenery..."

"And my entire Kingdom is awaiting your arrival."

I smiled. I was re-living my mother's , in my wildest dreams, had I such an opportunity. This was one of the most amazing days of my life, besides Ruri's kiss.

"Not only that, but as distinguished as a hero like yourself is, I am also awarding you my daughter's hand in marriage."

I had a feeling he would say something like that. I was about to decline, when I thought of something. My mother had described to me what the Kingdom was like. A lazy day that lasts forever. Large, peaceful fields to lie in. A bright sun and a fresh, windy breeze really sounded enticing. And now, with neither of my parents to hold me back, all I had to say was one word, and I would be , I wasn't so sure that's what I would I want to marry a cat? And, what about Ruri? Or my life here? Like it was so nice my brain was fighting with itself, I unconsciously slurred my response.

"Sure. Sounds fantastic."

Lune smiled, and patted both his servants on the back, and climbed back into his carriage.

"You won't regret this Mr. Satoru! We'll pick you up tomorrow!"

I shook my head, and fell back into reality just as he finished his sentence.

"Wait. What?" I questioned.

"Tomorrow Mr. Satoru!" The King called through a curtained window.

"Hey, no wait!" I cried as I tried to stop them from leaving.

"Good bye! Until tomorrow!" Lune repeated once more, waving a paw at up, I attempted to stop them. I followed them along the fence until they disappeared behind a building.

"No! Hey! I need more time to think about my decision!" I shouted.

I was answered by silence.I stepped away from the fence, and put my hands behind my head, and tried to make sense of my new situation.

"Okay Satoru. You've gotta think! What are you going to do?"

I lowered my head, and sighed.

"Great. Now I'm going to have to get married to a cat..."

My eyes opened up real wide when I finally realized what was about to happen.

"I'm going to get married to a cat?" I screamed.

"No! No! No! There's no way, no how! I can't..."

I sat down, and yet again, threw my face into my hands, and gave the skin on my face a good stretch.

"Augh! This isn't fair!" I sound of my cry echoed, bouncing off the walls of nearby buildings. I allowed myself to listen to the world around me. The sound of a bus leaving a stop, and the laughter of a child all sort of made me forget about what was happening. If I thought about tiny suttle things, I would began to just relax.

"Satoru?" A strange voice asked.

"Oh, what now?" I desperately cried, standing up, and looking around.

"Satoru? Find the Cat Bureau."

"The what?" I screamed.

"The Cat Bureau Satoru. Look for Muta. The large white cat. He'll be at the Crossroads. Find it, and hurry!"

"Hey, how do you know about the Cat Bureau? And the Crossroads for that matter?"

"Just go Satoru, please!"

I didn't know if I could trust this voice, but could I trust anyone?

"Okay, I will. Thank you!" I cried back, hoping that the mysterious voice would hear my thanks. I didn't want to anger anyone after all.

I quickly threw out what trash I had left, and, throwing my backpack on to my shoulder, I took off towards Crossloads the entrance to the square, I began to look for signs to direct me to the shopping center. Following each sign, I made my way through large crowds and past the clothes stores. I looked up at the different signs, each of them displaying memories of family and friends. The clothes store next to the entrance to the tourist center brought back some great memories. I remember it was where my father had surprised my mother by presenting her with a red dress both he and I had picked out and bought for her. It was the first thing I had ever helped purchase with money I had earned picking up trash at my old elementary school. She was so thrilled, and also very proud of me.

I turned away, and continued back down the street towards my destination. There was no time for recollecting past time. I had to , after dodging families, young couples, other teens, I made it to the center of the food court. I began to look around for what I hoped to be a large... to be honest fat no luck, I frowned, and headed over to a nearby cafe table, and took a , I angrily banged my head onto the top of the table.

"Not so hard kid, you might have to check yourself into a looney bin," a deep voice informed me.

I snickered, and looked up.

"Yeah, like I'm not that messed up alre-" I stopped in mid-sentence when I couldn't find the owner of the voice.

I span around, looking to see if the stranger had snuck behind me. Keeping my head on a swivel, I scratched my head, and returned my gaze to the glass surface of the table.I nearly fell backwards and out of my chair when I saw the enormous white cat lying in the seat of the chair across from me.

"You! I- I've been looking for you!" I cried out. I was probably attracted attention from onlookers, but I didn't care...I had found him.

I had found Muta.

* * *

><p>"Yeah? Well you found me. So what?" The cat mumbled.<p>

"I was told to come find you."

"Let me guess, a voice right?"

"What?" I asked.

"A voice stupid. A voice told you to come find me, huh?"

I stuttered a bit, and before composing myself, he laughed. It seemed like I was getting laughed at all the time now.

"Come on, I'll show you," the cat told me, leaping from the chair, and lumbered off down the cobblestone street.

"Hey wait! Slow down Muta!" I called out after the massive cat.

'Geez, he fast for his size,' I thought to myself. The both of us rounded a corner, and quickly took another sharp turn into a small alley. I jogged quietly, in pursuit of the massive white beach ball. It was difficult to keep with it. Pretty agile for a two hundred pound cat. At least that was my guess. The cat immediately jumped up on to a small, staircase like wall. I watched as the cat reached the very top, it leapt off towards a series of small, differently colored window overhangs.

"I sure hope those don't break under my weight..."

I whispered, tenderly setting my foot down on top of the first overhang. When I tested my weight on top of it, it gave off a loud moan, and I stepped back to study them for a moment.

"Well if fatso there could do it, than so could I," I chuckled. I took a small step, placing my foot on one of the shingles. All of them creaked and groaned under my weight, but they stayed up. As I reached the top, I noticed another larger overhang that expanded in both directions. I jumped down from the small height I was at. I stumbled a few steps after the cat, until I saw the cat manage to squeeze through the support rails of an apartment staircase. I quickly trotted over to the stairs, and bounded over the railing, and continued to follow him. Down a small hill, and then through another long alley way, I was slowly growing bored of my chase. But, I had to find the Bureau. Soon, I noticed a faint light at the end of the alley way. It was a soft, yellow glow.

"Sunlight, finally," I sighed in relief. The cat took a right turn through the opening, where I followed him to a small archway. Beyond it, was something I may never forget. A series of miniature buildings and houses. I smiled. Suddenly, everything my mother had ever told me about her adventure, was coming back. The colors, the lights, and the statue in the center of the square; all of these seemed familiar. I looked around, and noticed that only one of the buildings had a small tree, lamp post, and mailbox standing out in front of the small, but beautiful house. In the back and around the sides were a beds of flowers. They didn't look fake or plastic, they actually seemed very life-like, and very well trimmed. I wasn't any gardener, but the flowers looked amazing. Not that they took away from the very home they accompanied. It's green wood and stone supports were bright and nowhere near dull looking. I looked down into the front window, attempting to find the owner of such a lovely home. Instead, I saw... the answer to all my questions.

"This is it..." I whispered into the silent air.

I looked back towards the archway to see a setting sun. I had a feeling I knew what happened next. All the building's windows began to shine rays of light, most of it scattering into multiple directions at first. The sun set a bit lower, and the disorganized light fragments suddenly morphed into one unified beam that lit up the building I had peeked into.

"Baron! Enough already! You've got a guest! Show a little humility will ya?" Muta grumbled, as he walked past me. I was surprised that a cat of that size could even keep its balance. After the sun had gone down completely, the light show ended. And the beautiful little house grew dark. Suddenly, the street lamp began to glow, as did a second lamp that rested above the doors to the home. Lights within the house also joined their external counterparts as they too began to reveal their own gentle glow. I smiled as I watched the entrance to the home open. The two large wooden doors gave way, and opened out into the night air, as a silhouetted figure stood in the doorway. I felt myself grow weaker from the onslaught of emotions that began to overwhelm me. My mother had been telling the truth. About a year before... before all of this had happened, she asked me if I still believed.

I had told her no.

That was a lie.

A part of me that day hurt from telling such a lie. But, another part, the grown-up part, had reasoned that I was done pretending. However, I could see now that she never was pretending to begin with.

"May I help you?" a bold, British voice asked over the sound of clicking shoe heels.

The shadowed figure that had been standing in the door had now come within arm's distance of me. The light from the streets lit up his features. My eyes began to study the figure. I immediately figured out who I was in the presence of. He looked exactly as I had imagined him. His whitish-pastel suit, orange fur, and dark green eyes. It was him.

It was Baron.

"You... you are real!" I almost shouted.

"Indeed," the cat assured with a smile.

"I am very real. As are many of the other things here. This is a world much different from your own after all. For-"

"this is a refuge for creations with souls..." I interrupted. Throwing a hand over my mouth, I muffled an apology.

"That's quite alright," he laughed.

"It's been a while since we've had a visitor," I heard an unfamiliar voice say.

"What? What do you mean?" I asked the mysterious stranger, turning towards the direction of the voice.

It came from the statue pillar in the center of the square.

"Well, we don't find many humans visiting here." I started to do my own investigating, walking around the pillar, trying to find the voice's owner.

"What is he doing?" I heard Muta's gruff voice ask behind me.

"Hey, kid? Did you loose somethin'? Other than your mind..." He whispered the second half quietly, which I still heard it, and rolled my eyes in response.

"Where's that voice coming from?" I asked.

"From up there, stupid," Muta impatiently mumbled, pointing towards the top of the pillar. I looked up, expecting to find a third cat, staring back at me absent-mindedly.

Instead, I met the gaze of a collected, but gentle looking Raven.

"Hello young man," its calm, soothing voice greeted me. It was one of the largest ravens I had ever seen! It was maybe three times large than the average raven. Suddenly, I thought back to my mother's story. That must have been Toto. She had the same reaction when she first met Toto. I returned his greeting with a smile. It was the first time in a week I felt no shock, surprise, or anxiety.

It was as if I hadn't any need to be. I felt as though I had grown up with all them my whole life.

In a way, I guess I had.


	4. A Bitter Baron

A Bitter Baron

"Now then, what seems to be the problem?" Baron asked.

"Well, a few days ago I was at a cafe with some friends. I noticed a cat being chased by the restaurant's angry, drunken owner, and now the whole Kingdom, including the King himself, wants to thank me by offering me to come and live at the Kingdom with them."

Suddenly, as I watched Baron, the bright and good natured look in his eye had died. His shoulders shrank, and his cheery disposition faded like the sun set. He stuttered a moment, then, after composing his thoughts, asked, "Did you receive any promises of a reward?"

I nodded.

"Marriage, I assume,"

I nodded again.

He lowered his head, and clenched his hands. He allowed a deathly silence to settle in our midsts. After a long, and nerve racking minute, with a quiver in his voice, Baron spoke.

"I'm afraid... I'm afraid I can't be of service to you," he whispered.

"I'm sorry?" I asked with uncertainty.

"Go home. I cannot help you," he explained with in another whisper as he turned to go back inside.

"No! Stop! Wait!" I cried frantically as I ran towards him.

He wouldn't turn around, and I hadn't noticed even a single hesitation to stop.

"I need your help!"

He started to close the heavy doors.

"You helped my mother years ago. Why won't you help me?"

"I've helped a lot of people like you and your mother," he said casually.

"But my mother, those cats have her."

"That's not my problem."

"Just who do you think you are?"

The words streamed from my lips with a bitter, frustrated heat.

The Baron's ear twitched, and he stood in the door way, with a hand still on the door.

"You're nothing like how my mother described you. I thought you were him. The one who would help anyone in need! And now, for some reason, you're going to turn your back on me!"

I fell to my knees, and took in a long breath to stop myself from crying. This was no time for tears. It was time to be strong.

"You... you helped her. Why won't..." My voice trailed off, and I stared towards the ground, waiting to hear the sound of his doors slam violently closed. I felt that I had blown my chance. Now, I would never find my mom...

"Who is your mother?" Baron asked without looking from his home.

I took another long breath, calming myself. Letting all my doubtful thoughts go, I cleared my throat and whispered her name.

"Haru. Her name is Haru..."

The cat stood there, without twitching his tail, or moving so much as an inch. No words were spoken. I looked to see that both Muta and Toto had pained looks on their faces. I wanted to ask what was wrong. What did I say that had upset Baron so much?

Suddenly, as quick as wind, Baron broke the dead silence with an invitation.

"You look a bit cold. Come in," Baron said, waving a hand towards the door. I smiled with triumph.

I had done it.

'I'm coming mom,' I thought joyfully.

I stooped low and looked in through the doors. I couldn't see much past Baron.

"I hope you'll be able to fit someone like me in there." I laughed.

"Oh don't you worry, If Muta can fit, so can you," Baron replied.

"I told you, I'm not fat! I just have big bones!" Muta angrily replied.

"Well, maybe if you would take a jog once in a while, we wouldn't mistake you for a beach ball so often," Toto laughed from the safety of his perch.

"Why don't you come say that to my face you big, stupid turkey!" Muta spat back.

I couldn't help laughing as Muta fell backwards and on to the ground as Toto flew down and pushed him with his talons.

"Toto, Muta, stop your fighting. We have a guest," Baron ordered.

The both of them froze in the middle of their wrestle, Muta biting at Toto's ankle, and Toto's beak poised to peck.

"Come inside everyone," Baron repeated.

Baron's home was more magnificent than I had ever imagined. Even though it was only one room, it was beautifully decorated. A marvelous oak wood shelf in the far corner was filled with many handsomely embroidered books. A cupboard consisting of blues, whites and gold stood magnificently. Neighboring it, was a coat hanger that was privileged with holding on to Baron's hat, coat, and cane. He had a very fine looking desk in the back, and a rather appealing looking set of easy chairs. If I were small enough, I had a good feeling I would enjoy sitting in them.

"This place is magnificent," I said with awe.

"Thank you. Please, sit where you wish."

I thanked him, and found a seat next to the door.

"Your name sir?" Baron asked, as he slipped off his jacket.

"Satoru."

"Satoru?"

"Yes sir," I replied.

He smiled. "That's a pretty fitting name for someone such as yourself."

I rolled my eyes, and smiled.

"Thanks."

"Would you like some tea?" He asked, pulling out a silver tea kettle.

I nodded.

"Milk, or lemon?"

"Milk please."

He chuckled. "Just like Haru," he whispered, digging through the back of the cabinet.

Muta stomped past me, and flopped back on to a couch with the same red material pattern as the other two easy chairs.

"So kid, looks like you got yourself involved with those cats."

I sheepishly grinned, and stared down at the house's wood floor.

"Well, you know what they say, 'Like Mother like son,'" Toto snickered.

"That's not how it goes bird-brain," Muta mumbled.

"Like you would know you massive waste of space."

Muta yawned, pretending to ignore his insult, and leaned his head back.

He mouthed the words _I'm going to kill that stupid bird._

I began to burst out laughing. I was quickly interrupted by Baron.

"Now, you say those cats have Haru?"

"Yes," I replied. "I don't know how or why, but that's all I can tell you.

Baron placed a fisted hand under his chin, and his eyes observed me. He sort of looked like the Thinker with that pose.

"So, you have not only been engaged to the King's daughter, your mother, Haru, has been kidnapped?"

"I guess so," I whispered. I offered a silent prayer that Baron would help me get her back.

Removing his hand from its place under his chin, he nodded, and looked back from his tea preparation.

"Well then, I guess I have no choice."

He set down his tea cup on a nearby table.

"I must assist you."

"Yes!" I cried almost jumping from my seat. "Thank you so much Baron-"

He held up a hand, and I grew silent.

"Understand this though. I'm only agreeing to help on your mother's behalf. If you had been someone else..."

He paused, clenching his fist.

"Just, be fortunate you're Haru's son."

"I wish I had," I whispered back, my gaze returning to the floor. The house went silent. Only the sound of porcelain cups and tea falling into their basins was heard.

"I... I didn't know Satoru."

I almost began to cry.

"I'm sorry..." I heard him say.

I looked up from the floor, and his eyes met mine. While mine were red from pain and grief, his were filled with sympathy and kindness. Something I hadn't seen since I met him.

"Baron, you almost burned yourself," Muta grumbled, moving the whistling kettle of boiling water. Ignoring him, Baron turned back around and tended to the tea.

"I will do everything I can to help you and your mother," he said to me as he poured milk into one of the cups.

I wiped my eye, even though it was dry of tears.

He turned his head to look at me, and flashed a weak smile.

"After all, I have been in need to go to the Kingdom for quite some time."


	5. The Cat Kingdom

The Cat Kingdom

For nearly half an hour, we had sat in Baron's home, drinking tea and catching up on the a few unaddressed things. We had been laughing at jokes, discussing school, sports... and also my family.

"So, how is Haru's fiancee doing?" Muta asked, scarfing down a piece of angel food cake.

"Oh, he's not her fiancee anymore. They got married."Baron cleared his throat, and sat more up right in his easy chair when he heard the word "married."

I had a feeling I knew why.

"He, my father, isn't quite doing so well."

Baron's ears perked up.

"Really? What do you mean?" Baron asked.

"He…" I held my breath as I explained my father's death.

A soul tear managed to work its way from the corner of my eye once I had finished.

"Oh no," Toto gasped.

I nodded, trying to resist gasping from the burning in my mouth from the scorching hot tea.

"He's been… gone for about four days now,"

I continued, putting a hand to my forehead.

"Man, this just hasn't been your week huh?" Muta remarked, grabbing another piece of cake.

I chuckled.

"Yeah..." I looked up from my tea cup, and looked around the room.

"Look at this," I breathed.

"What, what is it?" Baron asked.

"Well, I mean... I had stopped believing any of this existed almost six years ago. And now I'm here. A place I had wished I could be almost my whole life. I never would have expected such an opportunity such as this."

Toto laughed.

"Well, neither did we. We hardly ever got to see any humans ever since Haru got married."

Baron sighed, and set his tea cup down on a nearby coffee table.

"Enough of that," Baron said with a yawn.

I looked past him and at the small grandfather clock.

"That's odd," I whispered.

"What? What's odd?" Muta asked with another mouthful of cake."

I would have thought cats from the Kingdom would have come to have picked me up by now."

Muta laughed merrily.

"So I guess you aren't ready to become the new Prince of Cats and have your own litter."

I shuddered and scrunched up my face.

"Ew, no way. Besides," I stopped to stretch. "I would make a terrible cat."

"I don't know, from what I can see, you would be the perfect professional feline."

I let the whisper of a laugh escape me before I realized the truth hidden within Muta's comment. My whole life since the beginning of the week had turned into a mess. It had been filled with lies, disappointment, and pain. But cats... they had it all. No responsibilities or no worries. Best of all, they can lie around all day and just do nothing. Besides, I was a pretty horrible at being a teenage human. Maybe I would have more luck at being successful as a cat.

"Maybe... maybe you're right Muta. Maybe your world is the world I belong."Baron slammed his fist on a nearby table.

Everyone jumped from the sudden, and violent strike on the took in a breath, and stood up from his seat.

"Satoru, listen to me. Think about what you just said. Is that something you really want?"I looked at him, and raised my brow.

"Isn't that kind of my choice?" I answered.

"It is. But, is that something you want?"I would have answered him, but a rancid and obnoxious knock from behind the Baron's door came echoing into the room. I felt my eyes grow wide with panic. I think we all knew who that was.

"Satoru, you've gotta hide," Muta whispered.

"He can't you idiot, he's to big," Toto whispered knock at the door came, and our fears were confirmed when we heard a voice I heard learned to dread.

"Mr. Satoru? Mr. Satoru? Come on, it's time for us to get going!"

"That cheery little creep's voice is really beginning to bug me..." I told them.

"We'll have to go out the back," Baron faintly whispered.

I stood up from my seat on the floor, and followed Toto, Muta, and Baron towards the back.

"Through here, hurry," he whispered, opening up another set of massive doors and grabbing his jacket, hat and cane. Everyone took a step forward…

Then took two steps back when they found their path was obstructed by a dark yellow eyes, and the black fur made up the cat's unfamiliar features. It also wore a suit, very similar to Baron's. As a matter of fact, he looked similar to Baron, with exception to his fur and eye color.

Also, it was wore a suit of black, with a fedora and grey vest.

"Hello Mr. Satoru," its dark, mysterious voice greeted me.

"Oh my God," Baron gasped in horror, his eyes wide with panic.

"What is it?" I whispered.

"Fang..."

The cat grinned, revealing a set of unusually pointed and serrated canine teeth. I guess that's where he got his name.

"It's been a while, hasn't it Baron?"

'How did he know his name?' I thought.

"How did you find me?" Baron asked.

"I had a little help."

Fang stepped back, and blended into the oncoming troop of white cats. As the cats came to a stand still, I noticed they shifted a bit from side to side, like when the weeds of a field were parted by the wind. In the part between the cat squad came the King's assistant.

"Ah, Mr. Satoru. It is an honor." I studied the cat quietly, and without a lot of movement. It crescent shaped olive drab colored fur patches creased under its eyes. I had seen its purple robe, and green glasses before. He introduced King Lune that same day."The pleasure's mine," I respectfully replied, bowing my head.

Nearly knocking him over, the brown cat I had grown to dislike pushed past him.

"Are you ready to come now Mr. Satoru?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm ready," I told him.

"What?" The others cried.

"Excellent!" The advisor said, clasping his paws together.

"However, I wish to bring my friends with me," I said.

The cat's smile vanished, and was replaced with a small hint of disgust.

"If you insist Mr. Satoru."

I turned and looked at them. I wasn't sure, but I think they caught on to my thinking.

I was going to have to go eventually.

So, instead of getting dragged there...

Why not go in style?

* * *

><p>"Is he awake?" Muta asked.<p>

"I can't tell. Its too dark in this room to tell," Baron answered.

My eyes lazily peeled open. I found the three of them, Toto, Muta, and Baron all hovering over me. I could feel the weight of heavy comforters pressing down on top of me. I looked around to find bed curtains hanging around me.

"Where... where are we?" I mumbled.

"You slipped off our ride, and fell to the ground," Muta explained.

"You're not dying or anything," Toto assured me.

"You just fell a ways."

I laughed.

"What, did I faint or something?"The three of them turned to look at each other.I felt like slapping myself in the face.

I remembered everything had started out pretty normally. We were going to travel to the Kingdom the same way my mother did. I guess she and I both fainted about the same time.

"You humans have a knack for doing that," Toto giggled.

I looked around and marveled at the beautifully designed wall paper and furniture decorating the rather large bedroom I had been sleeping in.

"Are we here?" I smiled, and walked over to the window.

"Welcome..."He threw open the curtains, "to the Cat Kingdom!" he said, using his other free hand to present the image that now had appeared in the window before me. It was so was the most breath taking thing I had ever grass covered hills seemed to stretch infinitively. It resembled something out of a painting. The field consisted of a wonderful shade of green, and the random flowers all had their own incredible flare to them. Sun reflected off the grasses, giving them an even more vivid green color. Cat tails were still sprinkled with a morning dew, and the blue sky complemented the whole picture.

"Whoa," I whispered.

"Whoa indeed."

The door to my room flew open, and in stepped his majesty.

"King Lune," Baron acknowledged.

"Ah, Mr. Baron! This is quite an honor," he smiled, and grasped his paw with his own.

"I do believe this is the first time you've been in this castle, and haven't made a mess of it." He laughed.

"Let's hope we won't have to do that again."Baron smiled politely.

"And this must be Satoru."

King Lune winked, and grasped my hand.

"What an honor to finally meet you."

"Thanks," I cheerily gave me a toothy smile, and walked towards the window.

"Well, what do you think?" he asked me.

"I think it's marvelous," I said.

"Do you?" he asked. "Good, I had a feeling you might."

"Are you strong enough to join me for breakfast?"I nodded. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I feel fantastic."

He grinned.

"Great, I will see you and your friends in ten minutes sharp. After all..." he started out the door.

"You must meet your future bride."


	6. Baron's Tale

Baron's Tale

I slipped out of the bed and looked at my new friends.

"Well kid, you're here. You made it, congrats."

Toto nodded in agreement.

"You must be excited-"

"To get your mother back."

I looked at Baron. His face was filled with irritation.

At least, that's what I thought it was.

Baron stepped away from us, and began pacing around the room.

"We must begin searching for her at once. But…"

he paused, and looked out a nearby window.

"where to look."

The three of them began discussing possible places they were keeping her. Muta and Toto would shoot glances at me. I guess I was confused. What was Baron's rush? Why didn't he just want to take things slowly? It was if something here made him uncomfortable, or if being here alone caused him some sort of discomfort.

"I'll sneak around the garden, and try to pick up things from the garden attendants. Muta, accompany Satoru to breakfast."

Muta smiled.

"That won't be a problem, right Muta?"

"Common chief. Since when is going to breakfast a problem?"

Baron looked at Toto.

"Fly around, and search the surrounding countryside. Maybe some of the local residents will know where Haru is."

Toto quickly nodded, and headed for a large open archway.

"See you around Satoru." Toto whispered. Squeezing through the open and onto the balcony, he spread his wings, and gracefully floated off towards the lush green hills.

"I'll contact you when I find out anything about Haru's hiding place."

Baron collected his hat, jacket and cane, and walked past me.

"What about me Baron? What do I do?"

Baron opened the door, but didn't leave just yet.

"Just act normal. And…"

He looked over his shoulder.

"Don't forget. You are Satoru Yoshioka."

I raised a brow.

"That's kind of silly Baron, I know who I am."

"Are you sure?" Baron retorted impatiently.

I hung my head, and complied

"Of course Baron."

He slipped on his jacket, and walked down the hall.

"You ready to go kid?" Muta asked, walking to my side.

I nodded, staring into the polished marble floor.

"Common, let's go. I'm starving."

He noisily walked towards the door Baron had just walked through.

"Hey, Muta?"

Muta stopped, and turned around.

"Yeah, what is it?"

I looked up from the floor's intriguing swirling pattern.

"What's Baron's problem?"

"What do you mean?" Muta asked in return.

"Well, he doesn't seem like anything my mother described."

Muta stared at me, his face seemed completely unchanged. He looked kind of like he was lost in thought.

"Well? What's up with him?"

Muta shook his head, and turned to leave.

"Common kid, you'll be late." Muta whispered.

"No. Breakfast can wait Muta. I want to know. What's going on? What happened to Baron?"

The massive cat sighed, and closed the door. Slowly, he walked over to a nearby armchair, and sat down.

"You might want to take a seat to Satoru. This could be a while."

I looked around, grabbed one a nearby desk stool, and sat down.

"Whatever I tell you is not to leave this room. Got it?"

I nodded.

"Alright, so it all started just a little after Haru's first visit to the Cat Kingdom."

"Baron and I were asked to help clean up the Kingdom. King Lune had been very grateful for our help, and had even offered to elect us Prime Ministers to the human world. Baron politely declined, claiming that we already held that position. Lune understood, and after cleaning up, we left. When we arrived home, Baron explained that he was excited to begin life at the beareau once again.

That was, until we saw the smoke. We returned to the Beareau to find it completely destroyed. The buildings were a blaze, and the plants and flowers were black with soot. Everything was being eaten by the flames.

Everything, except for Baron's house."

I continued to listen, leaning forward, and staring intently at Muta.

He shook his head, keeping his eyes averted.

"We went inside, and nothing seemed to be touched. The furniture was still in place, and we were somewhat relieved. The only thing that had changed places was Baron's favorite armchair. It was by the glass window by the doors. After we had noticed this, we went to moved it back into place. Suddenly, we heard a dark voice whisper erupt from the chair.

'Leave it alone…'

Baron had drawn up his cane.

'And who's company are we graced with?' Baron angrily inquired.

I stood back, and watched. From the moment the voice spoke, I realized it wasn't my fight."

"Muta," I whispered.

He held up a paw, and I grew quiet once again.

"Then, as silent as the shadows on our wall shifted, the dark figure stood from the chair, and stared out the window.

'Who are you?' Baron demanded.

The figure walked past Baron.

It was so dark in that house, and to this day, Baron and I have no idea who destroyed the beareau."

I was surprised, because I thought Baron would have struck the mysterious stranger.

I guess it was because he was scared."

'Baron? Scared?' I tried to imagine that.

Muta continued.

"He walked over to the front door, and with one hand, pushed it open. The heat from the flames outside streamed into the house. It was almost unbearable. A wind had come, and had built the flames even larger.

The black figure turned and stared at us, a dark yellow eye pierced our own.

"I am hell," it murmured.

With a couple of steps, the stranger disappeared behind a billow of flames and smoke."

Muta swallowed, and continued to stare into the polished marble floor.

I folded my hands, and sighed.

"I'm so sorry to hear about that Muta."

He nodded, and looked up at me.

"That's not the reason he didn't want to come though Satoru."

I tilted my head.

"What do you mean?"

Muta sighed.

"Well, after we had fixed up and repaired the Beareau, Baron continued to search for the malicious offender who had destroyed his home. But, after many years of searching, he gave up. And, it was after these years of searching that Haru… returned one final time."

My eyes grew wide.

"What? You mean?"

Muta nodded, and folded his arms.

"Haru came back to the Beareau, and with news."

I almost blurted my next thought, but I stopped myself.

I wanted to hear it for myself.

Just to be sure.

"Haru came back to tell Baron that she was soon to be married."

I winced, and shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"Dad," I whispered.

"That's right. Baron was so heart broken. But, he never did tell Haru how he really felt… about her anyways."

"What? Why?"

"Well, you see. Your mother and Baron, for many months after her first visit to the Kingdom, would see each other often. Almost everyday I believe."

"What are you saying Muta?" I asked, fearful of the answer he might give me.

"They fell in love Satoru."

I almost fell from my stool when the words pierced my own ears. My mother? In love with _the_ Baron?

I sighed with secret relief.

I didn't know why I felt relieved, but I did.

Maybe it was because a part of me had already known that she was in love with him.

"It was devastating. I remember about a day after Haru told Baron she was getting married, I came to visit him one night. You know, to cheer him up. Except, his entire home had been flipped upside down. Furniture had been thrown about, and tables were overturned. It was just Baron and his chair. That damn chair."

My chest suddenly felt a heavy, indescribable emptiness. I couldn't understand why this could all happen.

"He's never been the same since. And, I think the fact that he's helping you Satoru is hurting him even more."

Instantly, my grief turned into a boiling anger.

That's not fair! Just because he and my mother had a poor relationship in the past, didn't mean he couldn't help someone like me in need! That's what I wanted to scream, but all I did was sit silently.

"Well, you wanted to know Satoru, and I've told you all I know."

I looked down at my hands, and sighed.

"I'm sorry Muta."

That's all I could say.

I couldn't find it in me to say anything more.

He just stared at me. And, I saw in his eyes something I would have never imagined seeing in my life.

I saw pain.

He drew back a pin thin smile, and stood up.

"Come on Satoru. We don't want to be late for breakfast. After all, I'm still hungry."

I managed to muffle a small laugh, and he opened the door.

Muta suddenly drew back, grabbing his chest and gasping.

Our little brown furred friend had returned.

"Oh! Mr. Satoru! Before you leave, the King has requested you dress for the occasion. Please, wait here until you have your clothes on."

Muta rolled his eyes.

"Look pal, Satoru doesn't need clothes. He's already got some on. They suit him just fine."

The brown cat glared at Muta.

"The King has _requested _that he wear an appropriate attire. Why don't you follow one of the servants to the breakfast, and wait for Mr. Satoru."

Muta grunted, and walked off towards the door.

"Hey, kid?"

I looked at Muta, and watched him wink.

"Good luck, and remember. Believe."

I nodded, and Muta left.

"Come! Let's get you looking fabulous!" The cat chimed.

I reluctantly followed the cat over to a dress curtain.


	7. Tails and Turmoil

Tails and Turmoil

"They are some of his majesties' finest clothes," one of them told me.

I shrugged, and looked at myself in the mirror, and scratched my lower back. The King had had servants come to my room with clean clothes. Well "clean" wasn't exactly the best word to describe what they gave me. The inside of the coat was covered with fur.

"Well, what do you think?"

"It's really nice. It's just itchy." I scratched my arm.

"Oh, you'll get used to that sooner than you realize."

I rolled my eyes. That little brown cat was going to be the end of me.

Or, Natoru. Her name was Natoru.

I had learned earlier that morning that that was my annoying little friend's name.

I took off the coat, and slipped back on my own shirt.

"Hey, did the king provide me with any pants?"

The cat's brow went up.

"Pants?"

I shook my head, and laughed.

"Never mind. I'll just wear mine."

I placed my necktie and vest on the bed, and slipped the coat on over my shirt.

"You looked about the same size as the king, so he gave you the coat. It was the same one he had on the day he proposed to his wife."

I smiled as I studied the coat once more. The white coat was embroidered with a beautiful, golden braid. It's breast pockets were decorated with a variety of medals. It looked exactly as my mom had described it.

"Well, I'll be sure to thank him."

I finished buttoning up my coat and began walking towards the bedroom door.

"Oh, Mr. Satoru! You won't need those."

My eyes opened wide.

"What? My pants?"

Natoru laughed.

"No no Mr. Satoru. Your shoes."

I wiped my brow and sighed. I kicked them off, and laid them by the bedside.

"Thank you kindly Natoru."

She bowed.

"Go on! Everyone is waiting for you downstairs."

I opened the door, and briskly stepped towards a nearby staircase.

I repeated in my mind what Baron had told me before.

"I am Satoru Yoshioka. I am Satoru Yoshioka. I am Satoru…"

"The dinning hall is down that way, and then you take two rights, and go down a bit. Then, take two more lefts, and then one more right. From there, you should take the stairs to the immediate left, and they should take you to the garden, and then out into the second garden's courtyard. After that, just go straight past the second water fountain, and you'll have made it. "

My eyes fluttered with confusion and desperation.

"Thanks…" I managed to mutter slowly, slightly irritated with the instructions this castle servant had provided me. I knew it was wrong to be upset, after all he had gone out of his way to point out where the garden is… but why make them so confusion.

I walked away, annoyance clouding my mind.

"Thanks indeed."

I walked blindly down a foreign hallway, my eyes glued to the marble floor.

_"…Seldom do you see,_

_honest men like me._

_A gent of good intent_

_Who's content to be…"_

I perked up my head, looking towards where the singing was coming from.

I recognized that tune. But, who was that trilling the melody?

_"Master of the house, doling out the charm._

_Ready with a handshake and an open palm._

_Tells a saucy tale, make a little stir._

_Customers appreciate a bon-viveur_

_Glad to do a friend a favor…"_

I peeked my head into the room from where the singing was emerging from.

I saw a tall, black cat in an attire similar to that of Baron's dancing about a warm looking room. A desk lamp, and a shelf of books stood dignified against one of the walls of the quarters. An old fashioned record player sat on a small coffee table, a black record span ritiously, causing the familiar tune to play through the worn gold record funnel.

He gracefully span about, one of his hands lifted in front of him, as if he were presenting an old friend. In the other, he held a small glass, almost filled to the brim with a strange, golden liquid.

I shifted my position to get a better look of the dark, graceful creature.

With one final spin, he looked up from the floor and stopped his captivating dance. I almost puked at what I saw.

One of the cat's eye was mutilated, bits and pieces of it missing. It almost looked as though someone had shattered it; like it was made of glass.

"_Master of the_…" he stopped as he stared at me. My eyes grew wide with panic, and I slowly began to attempt my escape.

"I'm so sorry sir. I didn't mean to interrupt." I stammered, taking another step towards the door. I hadn't realized that I had actually come into the room, and approached him.

He smiled, revealing a set of familiar serrated teeth.

"It's quite alright Mr. Satoru."

He walked over to the record player, and, setting the glass down, replaced it with an eye patch which had been lying unnoticed beside. I studied the cat. It looked so familiar. The fur pattern, the figure, and the clothes. They reminded me Baron.

Slipping on the eyepatch, he placed a black fedora over the top of his head.

He looked over at me, and flashed his fangs.

"Oh, I remember you," I whispered out loud.

"Yes sir. Frederick Fang Steigendersonne."

He tipped his hat politely, bowing his head.

"But you can call me Fang."

I almost gasped when I heard the name.

Fang? Baron had reared back in fear when we had first saw him.

But why?

And where had the eye patch come from?

I hadn't noticed it when we had first encountered him.

"Aren't you supposed to be at breakfast with his highness?"

I blushed, and kicked a nearby dustball towards an elegant-looking, feather bed.

"I'm having trouble finding where I'm supposed to go."

Fang slipped on a belt; a sword sheath and a flintlock pistol fashioned to it.

I studied the weapons with a great fascination.

The sheath of the saber was beautifully embroidered with a silver vine. The handle was made of a solid black stone, a golden ribbon-like design defining it. The pistol had an elegant and ancient looking bird embedded within the grip. It's barrel had a solid silver color, almost drowning the worn, drab oak brown grip in a brilliant radiance.

"Well, I'd better get you there before you're late."

I bowed in respect, tearing my captivated eyes from the array of strange weapons.

"Thank you sir."

He came to my side, and patted me on the back.

"Anything for the future Prince of the Kingdom."

Fang walked with me down an unfamiliar hallway, and we laughed together at simple, but quite hilarious jokes.

We entered a pearl courtyard. Large marble pillars acted as the supports for the second floor's wrap around. Jade vines clung themselves around polished pillars. A large, slate colored water fountain stood magnificently in the center of the courtyard; it's foundation enclosed by a spectacular array of vivid flowers. Fang seemed to stand out from this brilliant collection, with his dark and dull colored attire. But, it didn't seem to matter at the moment.

He was being my friend. My comforter.

"Wow, it's so beautiful here." I placed my hands on my hips and looked into the lazy, and colorful garden.

Fang answered with a warm silence.

I smiled. We continued to walk down the open hall, the feeling of spring soaking into my flesh.

"I wish that I could stay here forever."

The words slipped and slid off my clumsy tongue.

"What?" The black cat inquired, looking down at me.

"Oh! Nothing," I casually replied, attempting to cover up my mistake.

"Oh come on Satoru. What's the big secret huh? You can tell me."

I shook my head.

"No no. It's nothing. I just…"

_'What am I doing?'_ I thought to myself angrily. _'What am I doing, telling a complete stranger how I really feel about this place?'_

I looked ahead of me, and beyond a large stone archway into the next archway. Another breathtaking garden filled the center of the courtyard. It seemed like there was no end to the infinite beauty of this mysterious place I had only dreamed of.

"I just... have never seen anything like this before. Not even in my wildest dreams."

Fang smiled, and put his hand on my back.

"I understand Satoru."

I stared up at him curiously. Him? Understand?

"You do?"

"Oh yes. This place is quite amazing. Look around you."

I did as he told me. My eyes searched around the untouched walls and natural green that made up the castle.

"It took many years for me to help the King finish this."

My mouth dropped open.

"You mean, you did all this?"

He looked down at me, and smiled. Those fangs didn't seem so scary anymore.

"Definitely. I invested a lot of time into making the gardens very special."

I smiled in both awe and shock.

How could someone like… like him create all this?

He just didn't seem like the kind of person… or cat rather, to have put this all together.

Suddenly, a faint collection of laughters came from beyond the stone archway I had spied earlier.

Fang grinned, and gently pushed me towards the jovial laughter.

"It's time, Prince Satoru…" he whispered.

I beamed charmingly.

_'Prince Satoru?' _I chuckled as I walked confidently towards the gapping archway.

_'I like the sound of that…'_

The room had grown immediately grown silent when I stepped in.

Many of the guests' eyes fell upon me.

An uncomfortable feeling settled within me. All those eyes, just staring me down.

I felt very small.

I hated that feeling.

Suddenly, a loud cluster of laughs and applause filled the courtyard.

I could feel a smile of relief and delight lift the corner of my lips.

Like the thunder of a heavy storm, the King's voice caused the audience to cease its clapping.

"Well Satoru. I now officially welcome you to my home… Your home! The Cat Kingdom!"

A loud cheer arose from the jovial crowd, and my smile grew even bigger.

"Thank you your Highness. I am very honored to be here."

He motioned for me to sit beside him. A phenomenal looking chair, adorned with gold flowers and detailed wood work sat beside the King. I swiftly strolled to the seat, and watched as one of the nearby servants pulled back the chair for me.

"Oh, thank you very much."

The servant bowed its head, and then pushed me back towards the table once I had been seated.

My eyes swept the room, looking for Baron or Muta.

'Where are you guys?'

My thoughts were interrupted when the King took a nearby fork, and gently tapped his goblet. The resulting toll of the elegant, near-perfect glass caught the attention of many distracted guests.

"Everyone, I have fantastic news. The Kingdom's hero, Satoru, will be taking my daughter's hand in marriage!"

All the guests replied with applause.

"And, today, my boy," he said, addressing me, "you will meet your future bride!"

I almost laughed.

I hadn't really thought about it until now.

You'd think that Lune would have learned from his father's mistake… with the whole marriage thing.

But, then again, he's already made a bunch of mistakes, like giving me the mice and catnip.

Maybe it was some sort of twisted tradition or something. I shrugged, and continued to listen politely.

His paw made a sweeping gesture towards the archway I had walked through.

"My daughter…

Princess Ruri!"

_'Ruri?' _My mind let the name echo.

"Nah, it couldn't be." I chuckled at the thought.

There was just some weird coincidence that the Princess's name was Ruri…

right?

I didn't know what to expect.

Today had already proved to be full of surprises.

I watched quietly as a charming, beautiful white cat walked through the archway. Her head was tilted forward, her eyes were closed gently together. She smiled with a conviction I knew I had seen before.

"Ruri, come and join us!" King Lune merrily cried.

The female cat looked up, and I gasped as my eyes met hers.

The beautiful, brilliant, emerald eyes struck mine.

She seemed less surprised than I, but I knew that we both were experiencing the same astonishment.

She walked at a slow, dignified pace, but she kept her eyes connected with mine.

There was no mistake.

"It's her," I whispered.

It was the girl I had fallen in love with at my very own high school.

But, she was a cat?

How?

She sat, and another servant slid her towards the table.

"Hello Satoru," her familiar voice greeted me.

My jaw felt heavy, and was opened wide.

"You look surprised to see me."

"Wait! Hold on!" I agitatedly whispered.

"Why do they think I saved you? I saved a different cat. One with blue eyes."

The female cat only smiled.

"But, you did save me Satoru. If you hadn't stopped that man at the restaurant you had, he may have hurt me."

Suddenly, it dawned on me. That baseball bat had, at one point, almost hit her. Maybe, they all thought that he would have continued to try and hurt her.

And, he might have too.

_'So I guess I did save her…' _

I smiled with pride.

_'Me, saving someone? Wow,' _ I looked upwards. I watched a mighty armada of white clouds sail gently across the lucid, sapphire heaven. The sun was still as brilliant as it had been this morning. It was remarkable. Never before had I felt so good about something. I was sitting across the girl of my dreams… or the cat of my dreams. That actually creeped me out when I thought about it. Here I was, a human boy, falling in love with a…

a cat.

But, none-the-less…

in love.

I guess it runs in the family.

"Hey, uh Ruri?"

She had been speaking with one of the guests. He must have told her a joke because she was giggling when she looked back at me with her beautiful, emerald eyes.

"Yes Satoru?"

"You don't think its weird that… that a human like me likes a gorgeous cat such as yourself?"

She dreamily stared back at me, shaking her head.

"What do you mean?"

What do I mean?

That was, what I was going to ask, until…

I heard the tear.

Suddenly, my ears felt very warm, and my chest went a blaze with a warm tingling sensation.

My warmth spread all over my body, and even to my toes and finger tips.

The itching from the coat fur had stopped.

The sound of fabric tearing came from behind me, and rang noisily in my ears.

I very quietly gasped.

I reached up, and felt around on the top of my head, attempting to confirm my fears.

I felt my ears. They were pointed, and covered with fur.

My eyes had grown large with much fear as I brought my hands before them.

I found pads instead of palms.

I clenched my cat paws together, and turned to look behind me.

It was there.

A long, furry tail, waved back and forth.

It had happened.

I… I had forgotten.

But, a new question aroused within me.

Did I really care?

I was soon going to be with the woman of my dreams, live a life of comfort, and let loose the chains of pain and stress. What more could any person want?

I was free now.

I took another look at my tail, and gave it my own conscious swish.

I smiled.

It was kinda cool, being a cat.

Suddenly, I felt something force its way out of my lips.

I looked down towards my nose.

Some cat whiskers had grown from my face.

I shrugged.

I don't know why, but I did.

I had always thought, previous to my changing, I would have been more frightened. I wasn't, which to me wasn't to important.

My eyes wandered back towards Ruri…

only to find her not there.

"What the-?" I asked, looking around.

I threw a paw over my mouth.

I hadn't noticed Muta… with Ruri in his arms, and a kitchen table knife to her throat.

"What the-? Where did he come from?" I quietly exclaimed in surprise.

The guests were in an uproar, and many nearby guards came dashing towards him, spears and swords drawn.

"Okay! All of you… Back off!" Muta angrily snapped, pressing the knife even further into her throat.

The guards stopped within a spear's length away from Muta, angrily staring down the large cat.

"Okay kid." He sneered at me, shaking his head with disappointment.

I let my head hang slightly with both shame and embarrassment.

"Let's go…" Muta angrily ordered.


	8. Brother Baron

Brother Baron

I looked around the room, my eyes darted from the King to Muta and back.

"Satoru is coming with me. Tell your men to back off, and we both save ourselves an unnecessary mess."

I placed my hands on the arms of the chair, about to stand up. I didn't know why, but part of me told me it was for the best. If it meant saving Ruri's life.

Suddenly, the King stood up, and…

clapped.

He began to applaud.

"Bravo. Bravo Mr. Muta. I commend thee."

Muta growled, and took a small step towards the archway.

The click of a pistol hammer echoed within the courtyard.

"But," the King grinned, "The Prince is going no where. And, you will release my daughter."

The elegant flint-lock pistol my eye had spied earlier shone brightly in the sunlight. Its owner remained in the shadows.

"I would do as the King says fat one."

Muta's eye twitched, and angrily, he threw the Princess away from him and towards me. His knife dropped to the floor, allowing it to clang with a boisterous clamor against the old fashioned stone floor.

Ruri gasped in upset as she fell to the stone floor. I quickly leaped to her, and caught her.

In my embrace, she hugged me, and whispered a thank you.

"Don't mention it."

She tenderly pulled herself away from me.

Her eyes opened wide as she gasped.

"Oh no, Satoru! You didn't!"

I agitatedly furrowed my brow.

"What? What is it?"

She was about to answer, when we heard Fang's voice.

"Thank you, now come with me."

Muta looked up towards the sky. He muttered something...

A prayer maybe?

I helped Ruri stand on her feet, and I did the same.

"Stop! Please. He didn't mean any harm."

Lune laughed, and I shrank back a bit.

"Please son. This is not the time for jokes."

"That was no joke… and I'm not your son!" I cried, regaining my confidence, and stepping forward.

The King returned my comment with a cold, ferocious gaze.

"Well, if that was no joke, then what was it…"

His eyes narrowed bitterly.

"… son?"

I opened my mouth to bite back with my own spiteful words, when the sound of several falling forms came into our ears. And, in the same instant, the table before us split and splintered into pieces. Fragments of the stone beneath the table collected and fumed into the air, engulfing us in a large, silvery cloud of smoke.

All the guests attempted to wave away the smoke.

The sound of a jacket being patted and rubbed replaced the silence. The dust settled, and a silhouetted figure stood a top the rubble.

"I would say it was an opportunity," The familiar British accent confessed.

"Baron!" I exclaimed.

"You! I thought my soldiers had taken care of you!"

I stared in disbelief at the King.

What did he mean?

Had Lune really ordered his men to kill Baron?

Why?

Suddenly, he was no longer the kind, gentle, and charitable creature I had met before.

His eyes and face had become twisted with a combination of animosity and confusion.

"Well, no matter. I'll finish you my self!"

Lune drew a hidden blade, and brandished it menacingly. Many of the nearby guards followed his example, and they drew their own weapons.

"Come come now your majesty." He tightened his grip on his wooden cane.

"You're beginning to sound an awful like your father."

Baron flashed him his own intimidating smile.

"And you remember what I did to your father last time don't you?"

"That old fool is dead! And he and I were nothing a like!"

Baron chuckled, and shook his head.

"Let's see if you can still handle that blade of yours… Majesty."

Baron took a bow, mocking the purple furred fiend.

Lune grunted as he leaped towards the gentlemen cat. With one sweep, Lune's blade traveled towards Baron's face. But, he was prepared, bouncing the King's blade off his cane. In the same motion, Baron jabbed the cane towards the King's stomach. Lune sprang back. Using the same foot he landed on, he propelled himself back at Baron, simultaneously swinging his swift sword.

Many of the King's guests had jumped up from their seats, and charged for the exit archway. I watched as Natoru helped guide many of the guests through the escape route, ordering them to file out in an orderly fashion.

Ruri frantically attempted to push her way through the crowd to me. I did the same, but as our paws touched, we were both torn back. I felt a strong arm wrap itself around my chest.

"Come Prince! We must leave at once!"

I looked up to see Fang, his pistol drawn and his finger wrapped around its trigger.

"To the tower! Hurry! There isn't much time- augh!"

The strong arm's grip upon me lifted, and I turned around to see Muta shouldering the dark figure. The both of them fell to the floor.

"Muta!" I cried.

"Run Satoru! Run!"

"Where!" I screamed back.

Muta looked up.

"There!" He pointed out a vegetation-covered stone wall.

"Climb the vines. Get to the top! Toto and some friends of our's are up there!"

I nodded, and turned to run. As I began to push my way towards the vines, I noticed Ruri already making her own attempt towards them. I looked back towards Muta to see if he was okay.

My eye caught a glimpse of Muta struggling to his feet. His age was catching up to him. Fang jumped upon him, his pistol drawn. Instinctively, he grabbed Fang's wrist, and the weapon discharged towards the heavens. The thunderous clap of the pistol's discharge accompanied a bright blue and black smoke which flew from the barrel and floated steadily towards the tops of the castle. Muta landed a punch square on to the dark creature's jaw, and quickly sped up to catch up to me.

I turned to find Baron kicking the King into a nearby water fountain. The King's sword was now in Baron's possession. He stuck the tip of the blade into the King's neck, while holding his cane firmly with his other hand.

"So, this is how it ends your majesty…"

Lune sneered, and spat in his face.

Baron leaned into the sword, pressing the sword's blade even harder into Lune's neck.

"Why? Why have you mislead your people? They trusted you, they believed you. You betrayed everyone! Even your own wife…"

Lune's paw swiped the blade away from his neck, and it went passed his shoulder, and was driven into the ground from Baron's weight. A long, bloody mark leaked down the width of his neck. Lune seized his opportunity and element of surprise, and drove his foot into Baron's jaw. Baron stumbled back, and Lune reached over and grabbed up his floor embeded sword.

Baron wiped his jaw, and ducked as the sword's oncoming blade narrowly missed the top of his hat.

"I'll kill you! How dare you speak of my wife you damn fool!"

The King released a blood curtailing scream of anger as he charged Baron.

Baron had prepared for the king's assault. From his crouched position, Baron sprang up, using his cane to tip the King up over him, and as Lune fell towards the ground, Baron delivered a strong front kick into his opponent's stomach. Gasping, the King fell to the ground.

He let out one final groan, and grew still.

The victor of the clash, Baron stepped over him, and speedily ran over to us.

He was quickly intercepted by several of the guards.

"Baron!" I cried. I ran towards him. Muta grabbed a hold of my shirt collar.

"Wait."

Baron smiled, and tipped his hat.

"Mornin' gentlemen."

The guards continued to advance towards him.

"Now now. Let's not be rash…" Baron simply stated. "I don't want to make more of a mess than I have already."

The guards took a few extra steps towards Baron. They raised their weapons in unison, about to strike the unarmed cat…

Clank.

Clunk.

Bang.

The sound of swords being dropped one by one filled the now utterly silent courtyard.

Baron gently took a hold of his hat's brim, and gave them a nod.

"Thank you. Now get going…"

The guards went into a frenzy, stumbling over each other and towards the exit.

I found myself breathlessly chuckling at the rampant, chaotic circus performance.

Quietly, the amazing Baron came walking towards us, his shoe clicks filled the air.

"Is everyone alright?" Baron asked as he came to our side.

I guess he hadn't noticed me.

Otherwise, it was most likely he wouldn't have asked the question.

"Well, most of us are…" Muta grumbled, staring back at me.

I shamefully looked away from everyone, and stared down at my feet.

Why?

What was so wrong about this?

What was wrong with what I had decided to become?

Something told me I was about to find out.

I lifted my eyes and met Baron's gaze.

He sighed, and took a hold of a nearby vine.

"Come now everyone. We need to leave, and quickly."

"Will he be alright?" Ruri asked, looking back at her father.

Baron nodded.

"Thank goodness," she breathed.

"We'd better hurry."

We all nodded together at this suggestion from our hero Baron.

Baron handed Muta his cane.

"You might need this."

Muta rolled his eyes, and took a firm hold of the wooden cane. With his other hand, Muta grabbed a hold of a near by vine, and lifted himself off the ground.

"Wow, I'm surprised Muta can support his own weight," I whispered.

"What was that?" Muta shot a dirty look back over his shoulder.

"Nothing…" I coughed.

Muta continued to climb using both the cane and his hand to gradually ascend the massive wall. Ruri and I could hear him muttering to himself as he inched his way up the wall. Once he was out of hearing distance of us, she and I began to laugh. It was so odd. This whole day had been filled with nothing but mixed feelings.

For once, however, it felt really good to laugh at a small joke such as that one.

Now, that's something I would have only seldom experience, being the future leader of the Cat Kingdom.

The simple things.

Everything I had come to know that was simple would be put aside.

I like the simple things of life. It was so hard to believe I had almost forgotten that.

My eyes followed Ruri and Baron up the vine covered wall.

I grabbed a hold of one of the natural, green ropes and took a hold of one of them.

I hadn't gotten any further than a few pulls up the wall, when I found myself back on the ground.

I hadn't fallen.

I had been torn down.

The feeling of a strong arm around my chest came again, and the sound of a pistol hammer being pulled back resounded in my ears.

"You!" I heard a voice cry.

I managed to turn my head slightly to get a better look of my cat napper.

It was Fang.

"Come back down here and face me you damn coward!" His anger filled voice shook me.

I watched Baron nod at Ruri, who was ahead of him on the vine.

She nodded back, and continued her way up the vine.

Baron's finger's unwrapped themselves from his life line, and he fell to the floor.

Landing on his feet, he gently removed his jacket…

I didn't even expect Baron's next move.

The oncoming jacket caused Fang to release his hold on me. I threw myself to the ground, and listened as Fang cursed and spat.I quickly rolled to my feet, and watched as Fang struggled to remove the pastel jacket from his face. Suddenly, a orangish blur flew into Fang, and sent him flying.

Fang's impact into the fountain reduced it to rubble, and a bent and broken copper pipe remained. A cloud of dust fumed into the air. Baron stood tall, dusting off his shirt and pants.

"Whoa," I softly exclaimed as Baron walked past me.

"Come. Let's go."

I took a no more than a few steps when a black streak shot past me and collided with Baron.

"Fang."

I watched in disbelief as they traveled at a great speed and distance towards the castle wall we had only moments ago been climbing. Their bodies sent an assortment of bricks and dust into the air. The sound of their fighting grew louder and louder, when…

My eyes went wide with fear as I heard the sound of a pistol discharge.

"Oh no! Baron!" I screamed as I ran towards the crash site.

Fang and Baron came rolling and out from the dust cloud, causing me to fall back.

Fang delivered a kick towards Baron's head. It was quickly deflected, and returned with a free arm. Baron's fist made contact with only air as Fang slipped back and away. Fang threw the flintlock pistol into the air, and as it span in the air, he caught it by its barrel. Fang sent the grip of the weapon flying, clubbing Baron in the head. The ugly sound of a thud followed. Baron stumbled back, desperately trying to regain his balance. On his heels, Baron almost managed to stand straight, when his opponent's kick sent him to his back. Fang raised a foot to stomp upon him. Baron managed to rolled away, and not a second sooner. As soon as he had gotten clear of his attacker's blow, Baron leapt to his feet.

Fang grinned, and released a roaring howl of amusement.

"You fool. You damned fool, you think you can win this time?"

Baron slumped, breathing heavily. I had always thought that Baron could never be beat, let alone get tired.

This day was just full of surprises.

"Well, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve…"

Fang continued to smile fiendishly.

"As do I…"

He span and faced me.

"Satoru. Do come along now. It's time for us to leave."

Baron shook his head.

"Satoru, let's go," he managed to breath.

I looked back and forth between the two. Something told me to leave with Baron, but I couldn't move.

"What's the matter Prince Satoru?" Fang asked.

I frowned.

"I'm no Prince, Fang. I'm just Satoru."

I started briskly jogging to Baron, when I heard Fang call, "What? Do you think that you can just find your mother and leave, and that's it?"

I looked over my shoulder.

"What are you saying?"

"You've wasted so much time already. Plus…"

He grinned a grimy grin of beautifully pearl, serrated teeth.

"Your mother couldn't leave if she even wanted too."

I glared at Fang, and spat, "That's a lie! Right Baron?"

I turned to face my friend.

But, instead I received silence.

Baron just…

kept silent.

"Baron?" I whispered feebly.

Fang laughed maliciously.

"That's right. She couldn't leave because she has chosen to stay."

I shook my head, a hole in my chest growing wider and deeper.

"Liar! I don't believe you!"

Fang shook his head, retaining his mischievous grin.

"You stupid kid! Don't you get it? Think back to your mother's stories…"

I perked up my ears, and stepped menacingly towards him.

"How did you know she told me stories of this place?"

"Well, let's say I've been places. Places like Crossloads, the High school, and even,"

he paused, and gave Baron a dirty grin.

...the Cat Beareau."

"No..." I whispered in horror, my voice shook with fatigue.

"You! You're the one who destroyed the Beareau years ago!" I heard Baron scream behind me.

Fang leaned on some nearby debris, and nodded.

"That's correct… my dear brother."


	9. Saviors and Secrets

Saviors and Secrets

"All these years…" Baron's eyes met Fang's gaze.

The black cat hardly flinched when Baron leapt from his hunched position. As Baron speedily approached his adversary, he curled his fingers together, and heaved a heavy punch. Fang, without effort, ducked beneath the attack. Baron's momentum carried him through the air, and over his evil sibling. Fang caught hold of Baron's foot as he flew overhead. Fang tossed Baron into a nearby castle pillar, causing it to collapse. Baron screamed in pain as he and some debris fell to the castle floor. I watched as a large marble slab briskly fell a top Baron's leg, the one only moments earlier ensnared in another ugly trap. He screamed, and instantly began an attempt to remove the agonizingly hefty stone.

Fang beamed triumphantly, and turned his attention to me.

"Come now Prince Satoru, we mustn't dawdle."

I backed away, trying to keeping a reasonable distance.

"Stop calling me that!" I shouted.

He laughed, and took a large step forward, extending a hand to me.

"Come now, there is much we have to do."

My eyes frantically scanned the the courtyard. Baron was pinned, and it was just Fang and I. I didn't know what to do.

I took a hold of his hand, and using my thumb and index finger, gripped the side of his wrists, and pulled the back of his hand upward, while pushing the fingers towards the ground. He fell to one knee, and cried quietly in pain.

Suddenly, an indescribable pain surged through my ribs.

"Aagh! What the-?"

I looked down to find Fang's other hand palming my ribcage. The sound of bones and tissue snapping was clearly audible.

"Oh dear God!" I screamed in agony, releasing my submissive hold on Fang's hand.

He shot up, and chopped my other side with the back of his now free hand. I coughed in response, and fell to the floor, trying to get my breath back. Fang used his foot to roll me to one side.

"Poor Satoru. If only you knew…"

I struggled under his weight, but I couldn't move. No air in my lungs, and broken ribs made it hard for me to put up any sort of fight.

"Now that I think about it," he said, placing a thumb and finger to his chin, "you _are_ completely oblivious to everything going on. You must be asking a lot of questions. Why was your mother kidnapped, why is Baron keeping all of his secrets…"

He placed the hand from his chin over his mouth.

"Oops."

'What do you mean oops?' I tried to ask, but was unable.

"Well, Baron has been keeping many secrets. Of course, how would you know that. You're just another dumb kid that he has so graciously offered to help. Well, I guess _you're just special.._."

"What do… what do you mean?" I managed to cough. I felt so dizzy and lightheaded; probably from the lack of oxygen.

"But I guess that's not that big of a secret," he continued, completely ignoring me. "You must have realized by now that Baron's been lying to you, Toto, and Muta… or rather Renaldo about where Haru is."

I gave him an ugly glare, which he didn't seem to notice.

"Did you know he already knows where they're keeping her? As a matter of fact, he was the first to know that…"

he smiled an ugly, smug, grin.

"she had been kidnapped already when you discovered she was missing from your world."

"Liar!" I coughed again, my head hurting even worse than before.

"Ah, but of course true love could never be separated. Trust me, I've had my share of attempts to break it up. But, that doesn't matter now."

He placed the heel of his shoes over my broken ribs, and pushed violently downwards.

"It's funny that once Baron discovered she was here, he didn't want her to ever leave. And what reason would there be for her, or even _you_ to go back. Your home's a mess, school has never been worse, her job is killing her, and… and your father's dead. Isn't that right?"

I bit down and ground my teeth.

"How do you know about that?" I asked through my clenched and tightly sealed teeth.

"Oh, that _train robbing _scum bag who your mother told you the police had caught. Well, he's long gone. No amount of searching will get them any closer to catching this infamous, and unanimous armed thief. Why? Because he's here…"

I sat up violently, my hands lashed out to grab a hold of Fang. Instead, I was violently pinned back to the floor.

"No!" I angrily screamed.

"Oh yes Satoru. It's all true. If you don't believe me now, you'll see."

I could feel fresh, ice cold tears, form at the bottom of my lids.

I wanted to deny it… deny everything. That nothing he told me was true.

But, there was something deep down that told me it was true.

Had Baron really known all along?

"Why?" I sorrowfully cried.

He leaned forward, his dark yellow eyes connected with mine.

"It's all part of the plan Satoru. It's all part of the plan."

He delivered another bone crunching kick to my side, and I heaved over and away from him with pain.

Fang's malicious laughter chilling rang endlessly within my ears.

'How could this have happened? How could I trusted this Cat? And for what reason?'

I writhed in pain, and listened as the evil cackling invaded my mind and thoughts.

'I'm going to die,' I thought.

'I'm really, actually, going to die…'

Silence.

The sound of his laughter ceased.

I managed to look back over my shoulder just in time.

A large slab of marble collided with the sinister Fang, and exploded, sending him backwards.

Limping to my aid was Baron.

I smiled as I gradually, and painfully, sat up. My arms shook violently in an attempt to support my weight. My legs shook with a tremendous fear. My eyes felt the stinging sensation of tears.

But, I wasn't dead.

Baron took a hold of one of my arms, and slipped it over his neck. Then, with a scream of pain from the two of us, we gingerly rose to our weak feet. Baron nodded, as did I. An unconscious, and bloodied Fang lay motionless near the desecrated water fountain. I made a face, and sneered as we passed him.

We walked a ways, but in total silence. I occasionally looked up at Baron, who diverted his eyes from me, and kept them locked in a forward direction.

The dirt beneath our feet rose gently, and dissipated rhythmically. When we approached the vine wall, I frivolously groaned as I managed to tilt my head back.

"Oh no. We aren't going to have to climb to the top… are we?"

He nodded.

"I already had Ruri tell the others to take off towards the forrest."

"Including Toto?" I asked, desperately hoping that there was still a possibility he might have still stuck around.

He nodded, confirming my fears.

It looked like we weren't getting a ride anytime soon.

I noisily grumbled, "Fine, let's get started."

I sensed Baron rolling his eyes.

"Satoru. You complain way to much…"

My eyes angrily stared at him. I huffed a breath of discontent, and started to climb up the vine. My ribs burned furiously, but I had to continue on. My ribs seared the underside of the skin covering it. They seemed to scream, "Stop now! We're going to explode!"

Their cries were of no avail. I was determined to make it to the top.

"More than your mother anyhow."

"What was that?" I screamed back down.

"Nothing," he assured me, his face filled with a humor I could hardly recognize from my position above.

"Oh. That's funny, I figured that maybe with my new cat ears I'd have perfectly understood what you just mumbled…"

He gently chuckled, and he took a hold of one of the vines.

After managing to reach the top, we stared quietly out over the sea of emerald, and watched as its bold, solid shade wavered, bending to the will of the wind. It seemed to stretch forever. Smiling, I looked to Baron, who's face I could never read, and asked, "Now what?"

He looked to his immediate right, where we both discovered at the length of a stone walk a worn wooden door.

That was the last straw.

I threw myself down, and gently pressed my face against my thighs, and released a long puff of stale air.

"Can we rest a second Baron?" I asked, the question some-what muffled by my legs.

I listened as his feet shifted momentarily, and with a single thud, my ears managed to capture the sound of his weight falling heavily next to mine.

He replicated my dry sigh, and sat close to me. It was comforting to feel his presence resonating with mine. I allowed the depredation of light mingle with my exhaustion, and I took a small peek from my thighs, and between my legs. I moved my tail from side to side, and lifted it gently. It was so weird, watching how I could use the ungodly appendage without any complications or practice for that matter.

Was that a bad thing?

Suddenly, I felt Baron's elbow prod my shoulder. A sharp pain bore through my side as his elbow made contact. I turned my head and nodded painfully.

"Yes Baron?"

He just stared at me for a moment. He didn't say anything. It was sort of awkward, just looking into his eyes, and awaiting for him to say something. He opened his mouth slightly, as if he was about to say something important, when…

"Does somebody need a lift?"

We both looked past the castle's turrets and noticed a large black raven flapping rhythmically, suspending itself like a large, obsidian helicopter.

"Toto!" We both cheerily cried.

He laughed, and adjusted his altitude.

"Common you too. We've got to get you guys out of here."

Helping each other up, Baron and I hobbled towards our feathered ally.

'What was Baron going to say?' I couldn't get the question out of my head for the majority of the flight.


	10. Times of Trouble

Times of Trouble

"So, where exactly are we headed Baron?" I asked above the rush of turbulence. My eyes slightly watered from the oncoming air, but I had to

admit, the fresh air was wonderful. It sure beat being cramped up in that small castle courtyard.

"Baron?" I repeated.

We sailed a little further through the crystal blue sky in silence.

Baron's voice broke the silence with, "Satoru, I want you to take a look below."

I opened mouth to question him.

"Look down," he repeated, as if he knew that I was about to say something. I quickly abandoned my attempt to communicate with him, and I

did as I was told.

It was nothing even close to what I had imagined years ago.

As a matter of fact, it was quite the opposite.

My eyes beheld three colors; black, gray, and white. At first, I assumed it was just my new eyes playing tricks on me.

"Gone. All of it…" Baron called back behind him.

I narrowed my eyes to get a finer view of the earth below.

Petit, obsidian sticks grew upward from the ground below. Topping the crown of some of the sticks were glowing orange and red spheres. The scent of fresh air disappeared without a trace. Replacing it was the musky wafts of a blackened smoke. I coughed noisily, trying to eject the terrible diseased wind from my lungs.

"Oh my God!" I cried. "What happened Baron?"

He didn't respond. He continued to gaze out in front of us.

"Do you… do you really wish to know Satoru?" He asked.

I braced myself for another heart-breaking tale.

"Yes Baron. I want to know," I replied.

"Baron… I don't think…" Toto began dissenting, when Baron stopped him.

"No Toto. He wants to know. You just need to focus on flying us to safety."

Toto sighed, and returned his attention to our course of travel.

Baron swung himself around from his sitting position to face me. He continued to keep his eyes separated from my gaze, but he told his tale all the same.

"About two years ago, the people of the Kingdom were already beginning to suspect that there was something wrong with Lune. He had increased the amount of tax on everything, forcing many villagers from their homes, and into townships. He even began torturing those who could not pay taxes or leave their homes. Eventually, a small group of cats, which called themselves_ Light's Liberation_, began baring arms against their malevolent ruler. Soon, the two waring groups destroyed the surrounding countryside, and the whole of the Kingdom became engaged in a massive civil war. However, under strange circumstances, the war shifted in the favor of King Lune, and he crushed the rebellion with one paw. I have a feeling I know how… or rather who tipped the scales of the war in the favor of the King."

'Fang,' I thought bitterly.

"The result was the destruction of the beauty that was once the Kingdom."

I nodded, continuing to attentively listen. The pain in my ribs had not lessen, and had even sharpened. None-the-less, I struggled through.

"My brother has something sinister brewing Satoru…"

He looked up from our feathery floor, and he stared deep into my own eyes.

"And, I'm going to stop it."

Suddenly, both Baron and I noticed a sudden shift in altitude, and we both looked to our friend and pilot Toto.

"We're here Baron." He explained with his relaxed, soothing voice.

"Thank you Toto," he replied over his shoulder in the same tone. I watched as we gently landed in a field of beige wheat. I looked around, and spotted an apple tree.

"Wait, I thought you said that the fighting had destroyed the Kingdom's surrounding country side."

"It was. But, we're not anywhere near the Kingdom anymore."

I scanned our surroundings, and noticed a fair distance from us a series of straw covered cottages. Some of them with random gray clouds of smoke funneling from the tops of slate stone chimneys. The long, lethargic column blended with a graying sapphire sky. The scent of apple pastries and fresh fruits filled the air.

"These are his majesties's Golden Fields," a tender, but burly voice explained.

I swiftly turned my head towards the direction of the unfamiliar comment. Baron walked from my side, and to the stranger's.

"Who's that Baron?" I asked kindly.

Baron smiled. "This is Lucas. He is a farmer and village leader of the Golden Fields."

I bowed my head in respect.

"Mr. Lucas. A pleasure to meet you," I greeted.

"Oh ho! So, you must be the Satoru kid!"

I lifted my brow in confusion.

"What? How did you know my name?"

"Isn't he supposed to be human?" Lucas asked Baron, apparently ignoring my question. I hated when people did that.

"Well, he washuman…" Baron mumbled, intentionally emphasizing the word _was. _I shamefully stuck my paws in my pockets, and wrapped my tail around one of my legs. That was new. I wasn't aware I could do that.

"Come Satoru. There's someone I want you to meet."

I looked up from my tail, and watched as Baron signaled for me to follow him. I had been so focused on my tail, that I hadn't noticed that Baron, Lucas and Toto had cleared a good distance between me and our landing spot. I cleared my throat, and trotted off down the dirt path the other three had started down. As my pawed feet trotted along the dirt road, my ears managed to hear Lucas cry towards the nearest cottage, "Hun? Get some soup started! We've got a few more guests!"

"A few more? What's that mean?" I questionably huffed.

We entered one of the small cottage cabins, and just in the knick of time. A thunder shower had quickly began, and we had just managed to duck inside before the rain could fall. The first comfortable thing I recognized inside the stranger's home was a big, fat, white cat.

"Muta!" I cried merrily.

He smiled, and stood up from a nearby bench. It had been depressed under his weight, and as he stood, it snapped back into a neutral, flat position.

"Hey kiddo." He mumbled quietly.

I jumped upon him, and gave him a big hug, crying just a little. I winced with pain as my broken ribs slammed against his large belly. He didn't seem to notice when I shifted to adjust the position of my ribs.

"Muta, I'm so sorry. I can't believe what's happened. Look at me," I moaned into his big furry belly.

"It's alright kid. Your mother made the same mistake when she first arrived."

Muta gingerly patted me on the back.

"Satoru?" I heard the muffled feminine voice ask.

I turned around, and I beheld her.

"Ruri!" I gasped. She exasperatedly fell into mine own arms, and we embraced each other for a moment.

"Is it really you?" I asked, holding her from me at arms length, my eyes slowly studying her.

"Yes, its me silly. I guess we're the "love birds" now huh?" she playfully punched my shoulder. I shivered with pain, and Ruri threw her paws over her mouth.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I didn't realize you were injured!"

Quickly, she ran over to a nearby caste-iron stove, and removed a warm, wet wag from a simmering pot. She gently wrapped my bruised shoulder with the steaming cloth, and tied it snuggly around my bicep.

"Are you okay? What happened?" She asked, frantically rushing from the stove and back, attending to my wounds.

"I'm alright, really…"

I suppressed a scream as I gently placed a paw over my broken ribs.

I could hear Baron, Lucas, and Muta laughing quietly behind the two of us, when all of the sudden everyone's voice was drowned out by a powerful, blaring voice, inquiring, "What's with all the noise?"

I looked back over my shoulder, and discovered another cat with maroon colored fur, and a white, sun-like pattern imprinted upon its chest. Its limbs were covered with bloodied bandages, and part of his head was wrapped with a cloth similar to the ones Ruri was providing me.

"And who are you?" It asked, its eyes narrowed with a un-present, but looming anger.

"I'm Satoru. May I ask who you are?" I reverently and politely replied.

"I am the rightful ruler of this Kingdom. I am the people's liberator, the bringer of justice, leader of the rebellion, fulfiller of-" He stopped to grip at an apparent pain tearing in his arm. He stumbled over to a nearby chair, and let his head fall forward.

"This, is Mr. "Prophecy,"' Muta sarcastically explained, rolling his eyes.

"But… you will address me as-"

The cat was quickly interrupted by Baron, who finished his demand with;

"Sol. His name is Sol."

I bowed politely.

"Pleased to meet you Sol."

He stared quietly at the wood floor below us, and continued to tightly clutch his arm.

Ruri continued to tend to my wounds, which was kind of nice. Her fingers making contact with my bruised skin. It was such a relaxing sort of feeling.

"You sure you'll be alright?" she asked once more, inspecting my ribs by taking her paws and prodding around the bruised and broken area.

Wincing, I attempted to cover up my pain.

"Don't worry, a little rest, and I'll be as good as new."

Baron approached from the side, and squatted low to examine my wounds as well.

"You've broken ribs, and torn tissue. I've got a remedy for that…"

Ruri gave me a slightly dirty look, glaring at me with narrowed eyes. I guess she had a right to be a little upset with me for trying to cover up my injury.

"… that is, if I'm permitted to use some of your spices Lucas."

He nodded.

"Yes, if you'll follow me, we can grab the things you need from the back storage room…"

"Wait a minute."

We all turned to look at Sol, who was still staring intently at the wood floor.

"I know who you are…"

He suddenly lifted his gaze from the floor, and his eyes met mine.

"…you're that kid that saved my sister…"

At first, I didn't know what to say.

"Your… sister?" I managed to cough.

"Your… sister?" He mimicked, mocking my expression as he did so.

"But… how?" I asked hesitantly.

"Well, now that the cat's out of the bag," Baron impatiently muttered, "he is Lune's son."

"Son? I thought he only had a daughter?"

"Well, you are obviously wrong," Sol bitterly spat, gritting his teeth from the pain.

"But, you're fur?" I inquired.

"Dyed. To conceal my identity. And, a disgraceful color at that..."

Rolling his shoulder, Sol shook his head, and sniffed.

"You see, just like his mother, prince charming thought that Lune was taking things to far," Muta smugly remarked, re-taking his seat on the worn wooden table bench. Baron nodded in agreement.

"Yes. And only Sol managed to sneak away from the Kingdom unnoticed, with the help of-"

"-my mother…" he interrupted Baron, slowly attempting to rise from his seat.

I smiled, and excitedly looked up at my injured gentlemen cat friend.

"You say only Sol managed to escape from the King?"

"Until now, yes."

I almost laughed from my eager feeling. None of them knew. I thought Baron and Muta may have already figured it out, the two of them living in my world for so long. But, the two of them were oblivious as well.

"What if I told you you were wrong?" I took a glance at my paw's new talons.

"What are you saying? My mother's alive?" Sol cried excitedly, changing his lethargic and pained pace into one of haste and speed.

I could feel my smile growing wider, as I asked, "What if I told you Yuki was in the human world?"

"How?" Everyone cried in unison, their eyes widened with a satisfactory disbelief.

It never felt so good to help.

I took a seat to explain what I had seen the day I had meet Ruri, when the door suddenly flew open.

"Lucas. You'd better hide your new friends quickly!" a blue furred cat in a long tattered shirt cried.

"We've got trouble…"

"Why? What's happening?" Lucas asked.

"It's the inspector. He's headed for our village with tons of troops."

Lucas nodded, and the blue cat shot off to warn others. He slammed the door, and faced all of us, his eyes washed over with panic instead of disbelief as they were before. Without tearing his eyes from the rest of ours, he shouted, "Isabelle? Dinner's gonna have to wait."


	11. The Viscous Visiter

The Viscous Visitor

"Quickly, we don't have much time," Lucas whispered as he leaned over, and pulled up a few floor boards.

"You'll have to hide down 'ere, until the inspectors gone."

Lucas guided us into the narrow and almost claustrophobic space. I entered the black shelter first, my paws feverishly searched the dark for a stray stone or lonely piece of dirt wall, but I felt nothing. As I inched my way forward, my tail could sense Baron close behind me, and my ribs sensed my panic, searing with more unbearable pain.

"Hey, move faster tublard!" Sol impatiently moaned.

"Sol! Stop that!" Ruri angrily whispered, giving her brother an assertive punch to the shoulder.

"Hang on, let me move a few more of the boards Muta," Lucas said, trying to suppress a laugh.

"Don't bother. I can manage just fine…" Muta sneered. He then noisily inhaled, and I guessed he was attempting to suck up his gut to push through. After a series of mumbles, complaints, and bickering, Muta managed to squeeze into our narrow hiding place. Sol and Ruri speedily followed, and Baron and I stopped to help guide the two of them towards us. I watched Muta with the light from the floor board openings grudgedly crawl, his fat making it difficult for him to inch towards our position. Finally reaching us, I quietly gave Lucas my attempt at a thumbs up, which didn't really work, but Lucas got the idea. He slid the boards back into their ordinary position, and not a moment sooner. A series of brutal poundings echoed through his house and floorboards.

"Open this door now! This is Inspector Taro! And, I demand that the owner of this home open the door immediately!"

Everyone listened as the sound of Lucas's paws scratching against the wood planks echoed through the hollow floor. The door smashed opened, and I managed to catch a glimpse of the intruding officer. He had greenish black fur, and wore a purple buttoned uniform. But, that's all I could make out before an army of boot bottoms suddenly obscured my vision.

"Lucas dear, what's happening?" a female voice asked. I assumed that was Isabelle, Lucas's wife.

"Stay where you are madam. Do not interfere with the investigation," one of the owner's of the assortment of leather boots commanded.

A heavy set of steps made its way over Muta's head, and the grotesque grinding and squealing of a sliding chair resounded painfully in all of our sensitive ears. Then, the victimized chair whimpered and groaned under the weight of its cat conqueror.

A flurry of paper shuffles audibly fluttered between the cracks of the wooden boards.

"Mister… Lucas isn't it? A pleasure. I am his majesties's chief inspector and investigator, Lieutenant Taro."

I took ginger steps to position myself closer to the conversation.

"Yes inspector. I was just cleaning up my home when you arrived."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, of course. After all, the harvest has made a real mess of things."

The two speaking parties silenced themselves. The house quietly grumbled, almost as if to complain about the uninvited guests.

"You… are also the towns' only physician, correct?" asked Taro very casually.

"Yes, I provide medical services for those here."

"And, it also says that you once served the King's Royal Army as a field medic during the war. Is that also correct?"

It took a few moments before Lucas replied. During those few seconds, the air in our cramped space had become deathly cold with the sensation of fear of being discovered.

"Yes. But, that was many years ago. I-"

"And, you provided your expertise for many of the injured…"

Taro pulled out a small pen and a leather bound journal.

"…including my father."

"Yes," Lucas replied without hesitation.

"However, when the situation grew dire, he… he didn't make it."

Lucas did not speak a single word. I managed to see him shift uncomfortably in his chair. My eyes darted back towards Taro. He was looking at what appeared to bee a small leather book, and his eyes sat unmoved from one page. A pen scratched upon the small book's pages.

"Is that so, Mr. Lucas?" He asked, ceasing his troublesome pen scratching endeavor.

Lucas swallowed, and nodded.

The inspector stared with a face devoid of emotion. His eyes were glued on his prisoner, and for a few deathly quiet seconds, he allowed his eyes to lock themselves upon the silent and uncomfortable Lucas. He returned his gaze to his book, and scribbled a few more notes upon the worn leather's paper pages.

"That's interesting…"

"What Mr. Taro?"

"These uh… bandages look like they have fresh blood."

"Oh yes. I had… a patient in here almost an hour ago."

Mr. Taro charily picked up one of the bandages off a nearby table, and thoroughly examined it.

"Is there something wrong Inspector?"

"As a matter of fact there is Mr. Lucas… there is something very wrong here."

Lucas stood up, and circled around his chair, where he gradually began pacing back and forth.

"Well, Mr. Lucas. I have reason to believe that you are hiding the fugitive Sol and his sister Ruri."

The doctor awkwardly chuckled, trying to lighten the gravity of his situation.

"Really? And what makes you say that?"

Taro silently scanned over his book as he explained, "This is one of the only villages that has an educated physician. And, witnesses reported seeing Sol stumble towards this very area."

Lucas sat up, keeping his posture stiff.

"Well, I can assure you inspector that your fugitive has not been seen or even hidden here my remote village."

One of the soldiers in the room looked to his leader, and he gave him a nod. The soldier stormed towards his target, and before he had time to react, the large burly cat drove his curled paw into Lucas's abdomen, and Lucas toppled over, the floor boards rattling and vibrating in response.

I scrunched up my face in grim shock as a few other soldiers enlisted their efforts to cripple Lucas.

"Stop it! You'll kill him!" Lucas's wife screamed.

Lucas gasped and coughed in pain as he was continually beaten by the lumbering masses of loyal soldiers.

"That's enough."

Instantly, the violent cycle of attacks ceased. Taro stood up from his chair, and made his way over to Lucas. I watched as small, ruby red drops fell through the cracks in the floor. Shuddering, I watched Taro stop pacing and walk over to his fallen prisoner, and leaned down next to Lucas.

"You bastards! Leave him be!" Lucas's wife bawled in horror.

"I'm not going to ask again," Taro whispered, grabbing the back of Lucas's neck, and pulling him towards his thin face.

"Where are they?"

"They?" Lucas hoarsely coughed.

Taro slammed his head into the floor aggressively, tugging his slowly limping head towards his mouth.

"Tell me where they are damnit. Or else I'll take the liberty to avenge my father's death right here, right now."

"Oh God no, please… I beg of you. Don't… I have a wife..." Lucas whimpered.

"So did my father. And, you couldn't save him!" Taro slammed and pressed Lucas's head forcibly beneath his weight.

"It was out of my control! There was nothing I could have done!" Lucas yelled under the pressure of Taro's body.

"There was plenty you could have done you bastard! And now he's dead because of you!"

"I'm am very sorry for your loss Lieutenant… but you shouldn't let his mistakes interfere with your investigation."

I looked around at my friends in our dark confined space as we heard the new, but familiar voice. Every one of our faces were filled with fluster as I took another peek through the floorboards.

"Fang sir!" Taro cried out, leaping to his feet. "What are you doing here?"


	12. The Assistant's Son

The Assistant's Son

"I was…" Fang paused, looking towards the ceiling loosing himself in thought. I managed to scoot over towards Lucas, and evaluate his situation. His face had began swelling, and the lower part of his eye had grown purple and black. Blood was spilling from freshly opened wounds, and his bruised eyes had become a dark yellow and maroon blood shot.

"Stay there," he breathed. I nodded and sank back from the stretch of light which sept through the crack in the floor, and waited. Fang smiled, and returned his attention to Taro.

"… informed that you were coming to this village to search for the escaped fugitive Sol."

Taro looked surprised, and sort of angered.

"Why, who told you?" Taro asked, his face grown sour with suspicion.

Fang grinned.

"I have my ways of finding things out."

Taro looked back at Lucas, who laid perfectly still. I assumed he was doing so in hopes that they would forget he was there, and leave him alone.

"My my, what have you been up to Taro."

Taro glared back over his shoulder at Fang, and reluctantly replied, "He was about to tell me where Sol is hiding."

Fang continued to grin.

"Oh, and where would that be?"

"Some where in this very house," Taro victoriously claimed, his eyes scanning the home in search for some sort of evidence that proved his inquiries were correct.

Fang took a couple short, fragile strides towards Taro. His every step caused small bits of dirt to sift through the floorboards, and peppers us all. The little stream of dust particles seemed to slow to almost a halt for a moment.

The ugly sound of paw making contact with flesh and fur echoed throughout the tiny village hut. Taro fell to the wooden floor with such force that I feared the wood would split and he would come tumbling down upon us.

"You idiot! I'll make sure you never leave that floor if you continue to storm out on me to go on some wild goose chase! We have more important things to do than to look for that pathetic example of royalty Sol…"

The young prince angrily made his way towards Fang's voice.

"I'll show him pathetic that insolent-"

I grabbed a hold of his shoulder, and shook my head.

"No… we have to stay hidden," I forcibly whispered, hoping that maybe he'd remember why we were down here.

He hesitated, then shrugged off my paw.

"Fine," he spat, as he returned to his seat.

I sighed with both relief and satisfaction. At least we were learning to get along…

Taro jumped up to his feet, and hissed.

"Shows what you know! I've had my eye on this town for some time… It's already been known for its cowardice and treachery. And now, they're hiding one of the procedure's most important assets!"

"Assets?" Baron asked, his hand tightening on his cane.

"He's here Fang. I can feel it-"

Another ugly slap interrupted the ambitious assailant.

"You question my orders again, and you'll be looking down the barrel of my pistol instead of the back of my paw… Do we understand each other…"

Taro stood before Fang, I couldn't make out what he was feeling. It couldn't be positive or passive either.

"Yes… Fang sir."

"Good, let us leave then."

Fang pushed the young inspector towards the door, and glanced over at Lucas as they began to exit.

"I know you're up to something Lucas… and when I found out what that is… I will have you arrested." His voice had a cold, viscous staleness to it. Lucas did nothing but stare, his swollen eye almost shut. Fang's attitude immediately transformed.

"Well, good day to you sir. Men, you may release the pretty young woman."

Suddenly, my ears perked up as my attention quickly shifted over to Lucas's wife. She had her head hung, and she was still in the arms of cat troops. They casually dropped her to the floor, and joined the leader. She continued to sob silently as Fang and his wing men excused themselves.

"Lucas!" She screamed, scooting her way over towards her crippled husband.

"Oh God…" she managed to whimper, throwing herself on to his chest.

We waited a few seconds before we decided to hop out of our claustrophobic hell-hole. Muta flipped up the floor boards and helped each one of us up and out. We ran over to Lucas's side.

"Please, help him!" Lucas's spouse cried, managing to unlatch herself from him.

I nodded silently, as if she had been speaking to only me. I was pretty sure everyone else would have agreed to help him, but I wasn't paying attention to the others around me.

I was more focused on the amount of blood and swells that had transformed Lucas's face.


End file.
